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THE 


HARVEST AND THE REAPERS; 


poutt-teli for 1.11, 

AND 

HOW TO HO IT. 


B Y 

REV. HARVEY NEWCOMB, 

n 

AUTHOR OF “ CYCLOPEDIA OF MISSIONS,’ “ HOW TO BE A MAN,” 
“ HOW TO BE A LADY,” ETC, ETC. 


“ Lift up your eyes and look on the fields j for they are white 
already to harvest. And he thatjeapetlfcsecgiveth. wages, and gather¬ 
ed fruit unto life eternaL>J^P^L^IJ?.'A" ' : ^S v John 4: 35,36. 



BOSTON: 


GOULD AND LINCOLN, 

53 WASHINGTON STREET. 

NEW YORK: SHELDON, BLAKEMAN & CO. 
CINCINNATI: GEORGE S. BLANCHARD. 

1858 . 



V 


Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1858, by 
GOULD & LINCOLN, 

In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 


ELECTROTYPED BY W. F. DRAPER, ANDOVER, MASS. 
PRINTED BY GEO. C RAND & AVERY, BOSTON. 


T O THE 

CONVERTS IN THE REVIVAL 

O F 

1 8 5 8 , 

THIS BOOK 

IS RESPECTFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY 

B Y 

THE AUTHOR. 


1 


4 


PREFACE. 


The design of this book is not only to awaken 
a deep interest in personal efforts for the con¬ 
version of souls to Christ, but to suggest some 
plans for the better direction of that interest, 
so as to bring the members of our churches 
generally into living contact with the unevan¬ 
gelized masses around them. It is the result 
of much thought and considerable experience. 
A portion of the latter part of it was published 
by the author during the Revivals of 1831, and 
was thought to have been useful. Having been 



IV 


PREFACE. 


long out of print, it has been, with some mod¬ 
ifications, incorporated in this volume. The 
author indulges the hope that there may be 
many of those who desire to see the “ Great 
Awakening ” of the past year perpetuated, and 
the church bringing forth perennial fruits, to 
whom the suggestions contained in these pages 
will be welcome. And, with a sincere desire 
to do good to the souls of men, and to advance 
the cause of the blessed Redeemer, this humble 
attempt is committed to the Christian public. 

Brooklyn, October, 1858 . 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER I. 

SPIRITUAL CONDITION OF NOMINALLY CHRISTIAN 
LANDS. 

t 

PAGE 

Cities, ----- .12 

London,.14 

Thirteen cities in the United States, - - - 14 

New York and Brooklyn, ----- 16 

In the Country,. 18 

Maine, -.- - 19 

New Hampshire,.21 

Vermont, - -- -- -- -23 

Massachusetts, --------25 

Connecticut, - -- -- -- -26 

Ohio,.27 

The whole country,.29 

1 * 












VI 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER II. 

DUTY OF CHRISTIANS TO THEIR UNCONVERTED NEIGH¬ 
BORS AND FRIENDS. 


How the masses arc to be reached, 

PAGE 

- - - 35 

Not by ministers alone, ... 

- - - 37 

The church a missionary body, - 

- - - 39 

Primitive preachers, - 

- - - 40 

Every hearer should be a preacher. 

- - - 41 

No monopoly of the word of life, - 

- - 43 

Christian ministry not a priesthood, 

- - - 44 

Individual responsibility, - 

1 

1 

• 




CHAPTER III. 

FEELINGS OF CHRISTIANS IN VIEW OF THE UNCON¬ 
VERTED. 


Example of Paul, - 


Of Moses and Christ, 

- 51 

Condition of sinners, 

- - - 52 

Regard for the honor of God, - 

- - - - 56 

Examples of holy men, - 

- - - - 58 

Sympathy for souls, ... 

- - - - 62 




CONTENTS. 


YII 


CHAPTER IY. 

A PLAN FOR CARRYING THE GOSPEL TO EVERY CREA¬ 
TURE IN THE LAND. 

PAG 2 

Cities, .64 

A District for every Church,.65 

A Field for every Christian, ----- 65 

Religious visiting, -..-...66 

Doing good to souls,.66 

Gathering children into Sabbath schools, - - 66 

Inducing people to attend church, 66 

Distributing Bibles and Tracts, - - - - 67 

Feeding the hungry and clothing the naked, - 67 

Pastoral supervision, ------ 67 

Reporting,.67 

Central supervision, -------67 

Church action. A Delegate Board, 68 

Diversity of ways, and harmonious action, - - 69 

Mission Sabbath schools, ----- 70 

Chapel services,.71 

Dr. Chalmers' experiments,.72 

Mission schools and systematic visitation in New 
York—Mr. Pardee's statement, - 82 

Mission schools and visiting in Brooklyn, 92 

A church organized for labor — extract from Rev. 
Wm. Hogarth’s farewell sermon, ... 147 







VIII 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

The Country, .153 

Towns to be districted, - - - - - 155 

A Sabbath school in every school district, - - 156 
District meetings, ------- 156 

An incident, - -- -- -- - 157 
A difficulty — how to remove it, - - - -158 


CHAPTER V. 

HINTS TO CHRISTIANS ON PERSONAL EFFORT FOR THE 
CONVERSION OF SOULS. 


Preparation, .160 

Spirituality of mind, ------- 160 

Condition of the impenitent, - 161 

Sympathy with Christ, -.161 

Love of God towards sinners, - 162 

Clear views of truth,.163 

What directions are not to be given to inquirers, 168 

Banish imaginary difficulties,.172 

Dependence upon God’s Spirit, - 174 

Be much in prayer, ------ 176 

How TO DEAL WITH SOULS, ----- 177 

Survey your field, ------- 177 

Study character, ------- 178 

Expect success,.178 

Improve favorable opportunities, - 178 

Maintain a tender spirit, ------ 179 

Directions for specific efforts, ... - 181 

Cautions,. ---190 










CONTENTS 


IX 


CHAPTER VI. 

REFLEX INFLUENCE ON PERSONAL EFFORT FOR THE 


SALVATION OF SOULS. 

PAGE 

More blessed to give than to receive, - - 196 

Missionary effort quickens and develops personal 
piety, -------- 198 

Examples,.198 

How to strengthen a church, .... 200 


CHAPTER VII. 

CONNECTION OF PRAYER WITH THE DISPENSATION OF 

MERCY. 

God will be inquired of,.205 

Moral fitness in prayer,.210 

Influence on ourselves,.211 


CHAPTER VIII. 

PRAYER MEETINGS. 


General Remarks, -------- 217 

Conventions for prayer, - 218 

Defects in Prayer, ------- 221 

Tendency to fossilize, ------ 223 

Common faults in prayer,.223 

Conducting Prayer Meetings, 227 

Who shall lead,.227 







X 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Hints to those who lead in Prayer, - 233 

1. Preparation,.233 

2 . Constant attendance,.235 

3. Scripture examples of prayer, - - - 237 

4. Agreement in prayer, ----- 241 

5. Long prayers, ------ - 242 

6 . Remember your prayers, - 242 

Exhortations, .- 243 

Telling Experience,.243 

No place to rebuke, ------ - 244 

Dull formality,.- - 244 

Examine your prayers, ------ 245 


CHAPTER IX. 


Revivals, .- 247 

Maxims for Christians, ------ 247 

Hinderances to revivals, ----- 248 


CHAPTER X. 


Concluding Address, ------- 260 

Constraining love of Christ, - - - - 260 

Consecration, - - - - - - - 261 

The late revival — a new unction, - - - 262 

Continuance and results,.263 

Why should the work cease, - 265 

Secret of success — a passion for souls, - - - 265 

Examples of success,.266 

A blessed meeting,.269 








THE 


HARYEST AND THE REAPERS. 


CHAPTER I. 

SPIRITUAL CONDITION OF NOMINALLY CHRISTIAN 
LANDS. 

We believe that the whole world is to be con¬ 
verted to God, because the fact is revealed in his 
Holy Word. But, viewed in the light of human 
wisdom and of history, such a result seems impos¬ 
sible. The Gospel has been preached for eighteen 
centuries and a half, and yet the vast majority of 
the inhabitants of the earth remain in profound 
ignorance of the Saviour; and of those who have 
heard of him, the great majority are under the 
dominion of popish superstition. Even of the 
eighty-eight millions of nominal Protestants, but 
a very small proportion can be reckoned as true 



12 


SEMI-HEATHENISM IN CITIES. 


spiritual Christians. On the continent of Europe, 
the great mass of nominal Protestants appear to 
have no saving knowledge of Christ. But even 
in the most Christian lands, in England and Amer¬ 
ica, where evangelical religion exerts the greatest 
power, the proportion of those on whom the Gos¬ 
pel exerts no saving power is very great. In both 
these countries, the great cities present a mass of 
semi-heathenism, at once startling and appalling. 

These great centres of population and influence 
bring the extremes of society into juxtaposition. 
In the same street may be found the princely 
mansion and the abode of squalid wretchedness. 
This produces the impression, on the one hand, 
that reformation is hopeless; and on the other, it 
tends to repress effort for personal elevation. And 
yet, one living in the midst of these scenes, on 
examination, will be surprised at the vastness of 
the destitution, ignorance, and irreligion which 
prevail in these places. Who would believe that, 
in the metropolis of the most Christian nation of 
the Old World, the great fountain-head of benev¬ 
olent enterprise, there are three hundred thousand 
more people living in the neglect of all religion, 


PROVISION FOR PUBLIC WORSHIP. 


13 


than the whole number of converts to nominal 
Christianity, effected by the united efforts of 
modern missions throughout the world ? Or who 
would believe that, in thirteen cities of this, the 
most free and enlightened Christian nation upon 
earth, the number of semi-heathen who live in 
the habitual neglect of all religion, is nearly equal 
to the number of nominal converts from heathen¬ 
ism throughout the world? Yet the returns of 
actual census prove these astounding facts. 

Both in Great Britain and the United States, 
the provision for public worship, if equally distrib¬ 
uted, w r ould be nearly an adequate supply. But, 
in all cities and large towns it falls greatly short; 
while in all parts of the country there are sparsely 
settled regions which are wholly destitute. 

The Census Commissioner of Great Britain sup¬ 
poses that, if there were seats for fifty-eight per 
cent, of the population, there would be sufficient 
provision for all who would be present at one 
time. And, for the whole kingdom, there is pro¬ 
vision for fifty-seven per cent. I have estimated 
an adequate supply of seats at two-thirds of the 
number of inhabitants, supposing that one-third 
2 


14 


LONDON. 


would cover the infants, sick, helpless, and those 
detained with the care of them. Upon this esti¬ 
mate, we had, at the last census, nearly a sufficient 
provision. There were fourteen millions of sit¬ 
tings for twenty-three millions of people. But 
actual examination will, I think, show that not 
more than one-fourth are detained by these 
causes. 

The city of London, with a population of 
2,688,000, has church sittings for but 800,000, leav¬ 
ing 1,888,000 who could not be seated in the 
churches. Thirteen of the principal cities in the 
United States, with a population of 2,048,785, 
have sittings for 852,436. With a population 
600,000 less than London, they have 52,000 more 
sittings than that city ; and yet the deficiency in 
these cities amounts to 1,200,000. 

The whole number connected with Christian 
congregations, gathered by missionaries in heathen 
lands, so far as could be ascertained in 1854, was 
1,572,000. Considering the zeal and success with 
which modern missions have been prosecuted, it is 
not a little surprising, that the regular hearers of 
the Gospel, brought to the nominal profession of 


HEATHENISM IN LONDON. 


15 


Christianity, by the united efforts of the Chris¬ 
tian world for nearly three-quarters of a century, 
should not equal the actual heathenism of the 
single city of London. A country of nearly two 
millions of people, on the other side of the globe, 
and destitute of the Gospel, 'would excite the ear¬ 
nest sympathy of the Christian public. And yet a 
population nearly equal to this exists, in a like 
state of spiritual destitution, in the heart of the 
British metropolis! We advert to these facts, not 
to disparage zeal for foreign missions. Would 
God it were a thousand-fold more deep and ear¬ 
nest than it is. But we are prone to look far 
off for objects of beneficence, while we overlook 
the misery and wretchedness at our own doors. 
It must be confessed, however, that those who 
manifest the most zeal for foreign missions are 
most active in efforts to remove spiritual destitu¬ 
tion at home; and we can only say, in the words 
of our Lord, “ These ought ye to have done, and 
not to leave the other undone.” 

In estimating the destitution of church privi¬ 
leges, it seems fair to allow that twice as many 
people as there are sittings may hear the Gospel at 


1G 


NEW YORK AND BROOKLYN." 


different times in the same place. But, in estimat¬ 
ing the number who habitually neglect public 
worship, we may safely take the whole number 
who could not be seated in the churches at one 
time; as the churches, on an average, are seldom, 
if ever, more than half filled. 

The population of the city of Yew York is 
629,000, with church sittings for 197,000 ; leaving 
432,000 habitual neglecters of all religion — more 
than twice the number of members in all the mis¬ 
sion churches in the world! Or if we deduct one- 
fourtli for those necessarily detained, we still have 
more than one-third who never enter the house of 
God; and we find not more than one-sixth of the 
population at church at one time. 

In Brooklyn, (consolidated city), reckoning the 
population at the present time, we have 208,000 
people, with sittings for 71,000; leaving 137,000, 
who habitually neglect public worship, and, of 
course, have no religion — a number greater than 
the nominal converts from heathenism in all 
Asia. 

This estimate is confirmed by actual surveys. 
In a recent canvass, on a street inhabited by re- 


CHURCH-SITTINGS IN BROOKLYN. 


17 


spectable people, in fifteen families were found 
thirty-five adults, sixteen of whom attended no 
place of worship. In another instance, four hun¬ 
dred and eighty-eight families were visited, of 
whom one hundred and thirty-four were Catholics. 
Of the remaining three hundred and fifty-four, but 
one hundred and forty-one had any regular place 
of worship; and as the information was obtained 
from the persons themselves, it is probable that a 
much larger number live in the neglect of public 
worship; for many who are only occasional hearers, 
will say that they belong to some congregation. 
And yet this is by no means the worst part of the 
city. The second and fifth wards, adjoining each 
other, have an aggregate population of twenty-four 
thousand, with church sittings not to exceed five 
thousand. Thus, in this “city of churches,” the 
most favorable view that can be taken presents a 
mass of heathenism that is truly appalling. And, 
by the facts stated, it will be seen that the state of 
things is still worse in the city of New York. 

From the statement already made, it appears 
that the destitution is found in nearly the same 
proportion in a dozen other cities of the Union, so 
2 * 


18 


DARK CORNERS. 


that it may be presumed to be general. Nor is it 
confined to our cities. In the new countries of 
the South and West, extensive settlements are 
found, which have no regular means of grace. In 
the valleys among the mountains, neighborhoods 
have been found where a sermon has not been 
preached for twenty years. In one of these re¬ 
mote valleys, the first clergyman who ever visited 
it, was requested to preach a funeral sermon for a 
person who had been dead twenty years! Nor is 
this state of things confined to the new countries 
of the West and South. In almost every township 
in the Eastern States, not excepting the most 
highly favored portions of New England, there 
are dark corners and remote settlements, whose 
inhabitants live in almost total neglect of public 
worship and of all religion; and high up in the 
mountains are people who live in a state of abject 
and heathenish degradation. Nay, more, there 
are families living within the sound of the church¬ 
going bell who neglect the ordinances of God’s 
house, and spend his sacred day in the pursuit of 
pleasure or in listless inactivity. 

When I commenced this investigation, knowing 


NEGLECT OF PUBLIC WORSHIP. 


19 


what masses are to be seen in our cities every 
Sabbath seeking their pleasure, and having some 
personal acquaintance with the heathenism that 
abounds, I supposed that the neglect of public 
worship was greater in the cities than in the coun¬ 
try. But, from the facts that I have obtained, it 
appears that the reverse is true. Actual surveys 
have been made in different parts of New England, 
which agree so well as to furnish reliable data for 
an estimate. The following statements may be 
relied upon as accurate, so far as they go. 

Maine. — A report v T as made on this subject to 
the General Conference of Maine, in the year 
1854, by a committee appointed the year before. 
This committee sent out circulars to all parts of 
the State, to persons connected w r ith various 
denominations. From the answers received, they 
selected fifty-three, — all that appeared to have 
been carefully prepared. These fifty-three cities, 
villages and towms, contained in 1850, a population 
of 127,098. The average attendance upon public 
worship, upon four counts, was 26,583, a little 
more than one-fifth. The absentees from these 
congregations w^ere 10,051. Allowing 1000 for 


20 


NEGLECT OF PUBLIC WORSHIP. 


strangers and transient worshippers, this shows 
35,634, a little more than one-fourth, to be con¬ 
nected with the religious worship of all denomina¬ 
tions, in these places; leaving nearly three-fourths 
"who have no such connection, and who may be 
presumed to be living in the neglect of all religion. 
But in some of the most important of these 
places, the neglect is still greater than the average 
shows. 

Another report was made in 1856, which says: 
“In the most favored localities in this State, not 
more than from one-third to one-half of those who 
might attend public worship are ordinarily found 
in any house of worship on the Sabbath. Esti¬ 
mates from ten towns, taken promiscuously, showed 
that but little more than one-seventh of the peo¬ 
ple ordinarily attend public worship.” 

The pastor of a church in one of the towns here 
reported, writes in April, 1858: “ There are districts 
in this town in which not more than half a dozen 
persons are constant in their attendance; and yet, 
if I appoint a five o’clock meeting in the neighbor¬ 
hood on the Sabbath, there will be from thirty to 
forty present. So in all this region, people who 


NEW HAMPSHIRE. 


21 


seldom go further than their own school-house will 
come in to such a meeting. There are but few who 
do not sometimes listen to a sermon. During the 
past winter and spring, there has been a great 
increase of neighborhood meetings, and also more 
attendants.” 

New Hampshire. — A committee was appointed 
by the General Association of New Hampshire, in 
1856, to ascertain the proportion of the population 
of the State, who neglect public worship. At the 
meeting of the Association in May, 1857, that 
committee made a report. The committee sent 
out two hundred circulars, to as many different 
towns. They received returns from eighty-two 
towns, with the following result: 

“The whole number of places of worship re¬ 
ported in these towns, occupied by the several 
denominations, is as follows: Congregationalists, 
including the Presbyterian churches 103, Baptists 

32, Freewill Baptists 29, Christians 9, Methodists 

33, Episcopalians 6, Unitarians 5, Universalists 8, 
Quakers 3, Union Congregations 6, Second Ad¬ 
ventists 2, Swedenborgians 1, and Catholics 1; total 
238. 


22 NON-ATTENDANCE IN RURAL DISTRICTS. 

“The reported average attendance upon the 
public worship of these several denominations is 
as follows: Congregationalists and Presbyterians 
12,081, Baptists 2,225, Freewill Baptists 1,645, 
Christians 755, Methodists 3,685, Episcopalians 
not reported, Unitarians 475, Universalists 235, 
Friends 50, Union Congregations 170, Second Ad¬ 
ventists 360, Swedenborgian and Catholic not 
reported; total 21,330. 

“ The whole population of these eighty-two 
towns, i$ 108,466, of which 38,692 are estimated 
as regular attendants upon public worship, leaving 
69,774, or a fraction less than two-thirds of the 
whole population, who are regarded as neglecters 
of the sanctuary.” 

The towns here reported cover more than one- 
third of the State. They are all in the rural dis¬ 
tricts, embracing no city. The committee express 
the opinion that they show a fairer proportion of 
regular attendants upon public worship than the 
remaining towns; and they think an accurate 
investigation of the facts would show that at least 
two-thirds of the population of New Hampshire 


VERMONT. 


23 


arc not, except very indirectly, under the influence 
of the ordinances of evangelical religion.” 

Vermont. — In June, 1856, the General Con¬ 
vention of Congregational ministers and churches 
in Vermont appointed a committee to ascertain 
and report the facts respecting attendance on pub¬ 
lic worship in the state; and aided by individuals 
in all evangelical denominations, the committee 
were able to present, in June, 1857, the results of 
their investigation. These were obtained by 
means of a circular sent to every town in the 
state, in which there was a person known who 
would take charge of the matter. The examina¬ 
tions were made by well-informed individuals in 
or near each school district. The towns reported 
are such as embrace a fair specimen of the state, 
with large and small villages, the thickly and 
sparsely settled portions. From these returns it 
appears, as the committee say, “that there are in 
Vermont at least 22,064 families in which there is 
no habitual attendant on evangelical worship; 
which, allowing five persons to each, would em¬ 
brace 110,320 souls: a fraction more than one-third 
of the whole population. The average attendance 


24 


VERMONT. 


on evangelical worship is 55,410; less than one fifth 
of the population. Upon non-evangelical meet¬ 
ings, 9,088: about one thirty-fourth of the inhabi¬ 
tants. There are 77,040 habitual neglecters of all 
public worship: a little less than one fourth of the 
whole imputation; and 37,564 children of suitable 
age not connected with any Sabbath school. There 
are 38,544 occasional attendants: not quite one 
eighth of the population. 

^ There is nearly one meeting-house to every 
500 souls in the state, and there are seats for every 
756 of 1000. Three quarters of these seats are in 
evangelical houses, and are sufficient for all who 
can ordinarily be present at any one time. In 
some localities there is a deficiency of seats, but, 
as a whole, ‘ there is yet room 5 in our evangelical 
churches for all the people. 

“The neglecters of public worship are not 
wholly foreigners, nor those bred to vice and 
crime, nor yet those in extreme poverty and hard 
service. Many of them are descendants of a pious 
parentage. Among them are some of our most 
respectable citizens, — intelligent, enterprising, and 
liberal in supporting the Gospel. Some of them 


MASSACHUSETTS. 


25 


are our next-door neighbors, our friends, our very- 
kindred, 4 bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh,’ 
soon to meet us at the bar of God.” 

Rev. J. F. Stone, Secretary of the Vermont Do¬ 
mestic Missionary Society writes, with reference 
to these statements, as follows: “I had become 
convinced, before measures were taken to collect 
the statistics contained in this report, that not one- 
fifth part of the population of our state were 
usually found in any place of public worship upon 
the Sabbath. And I have not yet found occasion 
to change my estimate. I think the Committee, 
in their care to guard against extravagance, have 
given a more favorable estimate than a closer and 
more complete examination of the state would 
sustain. But the showing is bad enough, and 
ought to move the friends of Christ to vigorous 
effort and earnest prayer.” 

Massachusetts. — At the meeting of the Gen¬ 
eral Association of Massachusetts, held June 22, 
1858, a committee appointed the year previous to 
investigate the subject, reported, as the result of 
careful examination, “that in the four States of 
Massachusetts, Xew Hampshire, Maine, and Ver- 
3 


26 


CONNECTICUT. 


mont, about one half of the inhabitants do not 
attend the sanctuary at all — that not more than 
about one fourth of the whole population regularly 
attend any evangelical church — that in Massachu¬ 
setts there are more than two hundred and fifty 
thousand persons w T ho seldom, if ever, come within 
the sound of the gospel.’* 

A venerable clergyman, who was for some time 
settled in the mountainous districts of Berkshire 
county, writes that about one seventh of the popu¬ 
lation included all who could be depended on as 
hearers of the Gospel, in the various places where 
it was preached. 

Connecticut. — An aged clergyman writes of 
the town where he is settled, in the central part 
of the state, that 11 about one fifth of the popula¬ 
tion are attendants on the three congregations 
having a name and a place for worship in the 
town. About two fifths are habitually absent from 
all places of worship, except camp-meetings and 
funerals. The other two fifths are aged and with¬ 
ered or in the years of infancy. In other rural 
districts where I am personally acquainted, the 
numbers have ranged between a fifth and a sev- 


OHIO. 


27 


enth, who have been reliable attendants on sanctu¬ 
ary privileges.” 

Rev. T. O. Rice, of Connecticut, says, “ It is a 
painful and startling fact that not far from one half 
of our whole population do not come under the di¬ 
rect influence of the means of grace. They are in 
the condition of the heathen, without a Sabbath, or 
sanctuary, and without a Spiritual teacher.”' 

Rev. H. Hooker, Secretary of the Connecticut 
Missionary Society, gives an abstract of the re¬ 
turns from their missionaries, from which it ap¬ 
pears that the number of habitual neglecters of 
public worship in the small country towns of Con¬ 
necticut, where they labor, ranged from six hun¬ 
dred down to twenty in each town. 

Ohio. — Rev. L. Kelsey, District Secretary of 
the American Home Missionary Society for Ohio, 
writes: 

“ My opinion, based on my acquaintance of six¬ 
teen years in Ohio, is, that one third of the rural 
population are absent from the house of God on 
the Sabbath. They are very seldom or never 
present. Another one third are only occasionally 
present at public worship — perhaps two or three 


28 


OHIO. 


or four times a year. This leaves only one third 
of our population who may be said to be habitually 
present at the houses of God on the Sabbath. In 
the large towns and cities, the proportion of habit¬ 
ual neglecters of God and religion is still larger 
than in the rural districts. 

“The population of this state, old enough to be 
benefited by attendance on public worship, is not 
far from fifteen hundred thousand. Hence there 
must be half a million of people never in the 
houses of worship — another half million only 
occasionally present, making one million of our 
people habitually absent from the public worship 
of God. 

“ These views I have submitted to others, more 
extensively acquainted in the state, and all have 
given their opinion that the number of absentees 
is greater than the proportion here stated. What 
can be done to evangelize these masses ? There 
is but little hope of a man, till he can be brought 
to the house of God, and thus under the influence 
of the Gospel. But this can never be done, till 
every church considers itself a missionary station, 


THE WHOLE COUNTRY. 


29 


and every member a missionary to the perishing 
immediately around him.” 

The whole*' Country. — From a pretty exten¬ 
sive acquaintance in different states, and from all 
the information I can gather, I think it safe to 
say, that as large a proportion of the people at¬ 
tend public worship in New England as in any 
other part of the country. I believe the pro¬ 
portion is much greater than that of the whole 
country. I cannot leam that thorough investi¬ 
gations, like those that have been quoted, have 
been made out of New England. The fact that 
I have received but two responses to inquiries 
made out of New England, shows that public 
attention has not been sufficiently directed to 
the subject to lead to examination. This I re¬ 
gard as evidence of apathy rather than of any 
better state of things. A clergyman, who was 
one of the pioneers of the Home Missionary So¬ 
ciety in the West, and who has labored ex¬ 
tensively in Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa, 
(now in Illinois,) writes as follows : 

“ I proposed your two questions to two substan¬ 
tial fanners of my congregation, and they gave it 
3 * 


30 


THE WHOLE COUNTRY. 


as their opinion that three fourths of the people of 
the West habitually neglect public worship; that 
only one fourth of the Protestant population could 
be considered as belonging to the class of persons 
that attend worship on the Sabbath, and that not 
more than half of these are regularly there. My 
own mind was inclined to fix upon one third 
instead of one fourth as the true proportion, and 
that not more than one in six of our population 
are in actual attendance in any place of worship 
on the Sabbath day. Others have stated it as 
their opinion that not more than one in ten 
were there. In some places inhere there is a 
JVew England element , or a settlement made 
up of emigrants from New York, New Jersey, 
or Pennsylvania, the proportion is much larger. 
But aside from the Presbyterians, Congrega- 
tionalists, Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, and 
Episcopalians, the attendance is very small and 
irregular. Out of these denominations, which 
amount perhaps, in the whole country, to four 
and a half millions, but few Protestant people 
are found ordinarily in the house of God. So 
far as I have observed congregations in the 


THE WHOLE COUNTRY. 


31 


West, few more attend Sabbath worship, who 
are out of the church, than would be in the 
congregation if all the members of the church 
themselves were present regularly every Sab¬ 
bath-day. Hence I presume that four and a 
half millions comprise all, and probably more 
than all the average attendance on the places 
of Protestant worship on the Sabbath-day, in 
the whole country. Or, in other words, we 
have four and a half millions out of twenty- 
seven millions, on the Sabbath, under a course 
of gospel instruction. This calculation will cer¬ 
tainly be within bounds, if applied to adults, and 
probably quite too large. 

“The causes which lead to the neglect of gos¬ 
pel institutions on the Sabbath, in connection 
with human depravity, are the soul-destroying 
errors of which the country is full. Spiritualism 
has its three millions ; Universalism and other 
forms of Infidelity as many more. Popery and 
German Rationalism, Intemperance, Sabbath des¬ 
ecration, Gambling and kindred vices, all con¬ 
spire to produce this result. Nor are they done 
away with except in those places where evangeli- 


32 


SABBATH DESECRATION. 


cal ministers labor. As I go to attend the meet¬ 
ings on the Sabbath, I see some riding out for 
visiting, some at various kinds of work, some go¬ 
ing out with their guns to hunt on the prairie, 
and some fill the bar-rooms and saloons to drink 
and gamble all day and all night. I made some 
remarks on this subject in the Sabbath school, a 
few Sabbaths since; when a German physician, 
who prides himself upon an education of fifteen 
years, whose father was a minister, was very 
angry, and said his children should not attend 
Sabbath school any more. He was willing, he 
said, that his children should be taught religion , 
but he did not want them to be taught that it 
was wrong to hunt, or drink, or play cards on 
the Sabbath; and so they got up quite an excite¬ 
ment against me on this account.” 

These facts present a condition of things that 
must be deeply humiliating to every heart that 
beats warm for the coming of Christ’s kingdom. 
This is the boasted land of freedom and of Chris¬ 
tianity. And Christianity has certainly made great 
progress among us, the last fifty years. It is be¬ 
lieved that a much larger proportion of the people 


PROPORTION ATTENDING PUBLIC WORSHIP. 83 


are chttrcli members than at any period of our 
existence, except in the early settlement of those 
portions which were founded by Christian emi¬ 
grants. It is believed, also, that religion now 
has a stronger hold of the public mind than it 
has had at any previous period since the Revo¬ 
lution. And yet it appears from these facts that 
not more than one sixth of the population are 
regular attendants upon public worship. And if 
we allow one fourth of the whole to be detained 
at home by age, sickness, and infirmity, there will 
still be three fourths of the remainder who habitu¬ 
ally neglect the worship of God. Nor are these 
the poor alone, nor foreigners only. One of the 
foregoing reports states that, in a country place, 
many of them are persons occupying respectable 
stations in society, and some of them even the 
sons of the church! It is so in our cities. Here 
are habitual neglecters of the worship of God in 
all classes of society, — in Fifth Avenue and on 
Brooklyn Heights, as well as in the Five Points 
and Red Hook. 

The Scriptures classify those that neglect the 
worship of God, among the heathen, and invoke 


34 


HEATIIEN” NOT A MISNOMER. 


upon them the curse of God : “ Pour out thy 

fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and 
upon the families that call not upon tliy name” 
It is no misnomer, then, to call the habitual neg- 
lecters of public worship HEATHEN. They are 
heathen without the excuse of not having an op- 
portunity to hear the Gospel. And if the inhabi¬ 
tants of Sodom shall rise up in the judgment 
against the rejecters of Christ among the Jews, 
the heathen of our day will rise up against those 
in Christian lands who live like the heathen, and 
condemn them. 

But, the guilt of those who neglect the Gospel 
cannot excuse Christians from the responsibility 
of laboring for their salvation. It is true, they 
have no taste for the Gospel, and this is their 
condemnation. But if Christ had left us to our¬ 
selves, because we had naturally no love for him, 
nor desire after him, we should have perished. 
They need to have the Gospel carried to them, 
and a taste for it created, before they will appre¬ 
ciate, or embrace it. 


CHAPTER II. 


DUTY OF CHRISTIAN'S TO THEIR UNCONVERTED 
NEIGHBORS AND COUNTRYMEN. 

In view of the facts stated in the foregoing 
chapter, the momentous question arises, 44 How 
are these masses to be reached and evangel¬ 
ized ? ” To this question, selfishness replies, 44 If 
they desire the privileges of the Gospel, let them 
seek them. We that have them, have provided 
them for ourselves and our children. Let them 
do the same. Many of them can find accommo-. 
dations in our churches if they desire it; and 
those who cannot, are as well able to provide 
for themselves as we are.” There is some truth 
in this; but much more error. It is true that 
those who desire the privileges of the Gospel 
may in almost all cases secure them. And it is 
also true that it is the duty of every man to con¬ 
tribute his share, according to his ability, to sus¬ 
tain the institutions of the Gospel. But, if the 


36 


DUTY OF CHRISTIANS. 


Lord had dealt with us on this principle, what 
would have been our condition ? When our 
fathers bowed down and offered human sacri¬ 
fices to their gods Woden and Thor , in the deep 
forests of oak, they would never have sought 
for a better religion, if Christian philanthropy 
had not sent it to them. And even we our¬ 
selves, while our hearts were alienated from God, 
had no appreciation of the Gospel. We should 
not have sought him, if he had not, in his lov¬ 
ing-kindness, drawn us. Nay, God would never 
have given us his Son, if he had waited for us 
first to seek his grace. Christ Jesus came into 
the world “ to seek and to save that which was 
lost; ” and we arc to follow his example, by 
seeking to save the lost. All our arrangements 
for maintaining the institutions of the Gospel 
ought to be made with this end primarily in 
view, instead of seeking first our own conveni¬ 
ence and edification. But, if this principle were 
carried out, it would revolutionize our mode of 
proceeding, especially in our cities. Instead of 
congregating our churches at central points, and 
building edifices so costly that none but the rich 


CHURCH EXTENSION. 


37 


can worship in them, we should build our churches 
where the population is, and upon such a scale 
that “ the rich and poor can meet together.” In 
answer to an inquiry addressed to him in rela¬ 
tion to the state of Rhode Island, Rev. Dr. Way- 
land remarks : “ In this country, if we keep on in 
our present course, building expensive churches, 
and keeping up our expensive worship, our pop¬ 
ulation will all be heathen, both in the church 
and without .” 

But the question still returns, tc How are these 
masses to he reached ? ” Can it be done by an 
immediate increase of churches and ministers, 
sufficient to provide a sitting for every one that 
ought to assemble with the people of God on the 
Sabbath, to worship Him, and hear his Word? 
To build chapels, with 500 sittings in each, at the 
low estimate of 810,000, would require 274 addi¬ 
tional ones in Brooklyn, at an outlay of $2,000,- 
740. And to supply these chapels with min¬ 
isters would require more than a quarter of the 
number introduced into the ministry in a year, 
by all evangelical denominations, in the United 


4 


38 


INDIFFERENCE OF THE MASSES. 


States. 1 For the city of "New York it would re¬ 
quire 864 new chapels, at a cost of $8,640,000; 
and it would take the whole number of ministers 
graduated in a year to supply them. In the thir¬ 
teen cities named in the first chapter, it would 
require 2,836 new churches to supply the destitu¬ 
tion, at a cost of more than $28,000,000. And it 
would take more than three times the annual 
increase of ministers to supply them. 

But, having done all this, would the people 
come to these churches ? Such an effort would 
doubtless result in an increased attendance upon 
public worship. But we have no reason to sup¬ 
pose that it would secure a general attendance 
of the indifferent masses. If there were an ap¬ 
petite for the Gospel, they would rush in and 
fill the empty seats in our churches. Such a 
plan as this would no more secure the object, 
than building chapels and employing ministers 
to establish worship in heathen lands, as an in- 

1 1 have reckoned the whole number at eight hundred, by 
taking the denominations which publish annual reports, from 
official documents, and estimating the rest about in the same 
proportion to the number of their churches. 


THE CHURCH A MISSIONARY BODY. 


39 


itiatory step, would secure the regular attendance 
of the heathen. 

Although “ church extension ” must not be 
abandoned, but needs to be increased as fast as 
there is a waking up of demand for it; yet an 
immediate supply of the pressing want, by this 
means, is out of the question. If it were practi¬ 
cable, it would not reach the bottom of the evil. 
Neither can the work be done, so far as we can 
see, by any system of paid labor. 

The church of Christ, in its inception, was a 
missionary body. The primitive Christians evi¬ 
dently understood the Redeemer’s last command, 
to “ Go and preach the Gospel to every creature,” 
as binding on every individual believer; and 
wherever they found an unbeliever, they recog¬ 
nized in him one of the “every creature” to whom 
they were to preach the Gospel. We read in the 
eighth chapter of Acts, that the church at Jeru¬ 
salem “ were all scattered abroad except the Apos¬ 
tles.” The Apostles remained at Jerusalem. All 
the rest of the disciples were scattered abroad. 

“And THEY THAT WERE SCATTERED ABROAD Went 

everywhere, preaching the icord.” Here, it is the 


40 


TWO FACTS EVIDENT. 


usual word rendered preaching , and signifies a 
public proclamation, as that of a crier with news. 
Afterwards, in the eleventh chapter, another word 
is used, which literally rendered would be talk¬ 
ing : “ They that were scattered upon the perse¬ 
cution about Stephen, travelled as far as Phenice 
and Cyprus and Antioch, preaching (i. e. talking) 
the word.” 

Here are two facts most evident: First, all 
the disciples comprising the primitive church at 
Jerusalem, (except the Apostles who remained 
in that city,) in their flight from persecution, 
made known the Gospel as they went. Second, 
they employed every available means, both pub¬ 
lic and private, to accomplish this object, and to 
persuade the people to obey the Gospel. Those 
who could speak in public, and for whom it was 
proper, spoke without waiting for a formal license. 
Those who could not speak in public, for want of 
a suitable gift, and those whom “nature itself 
teaches ” to be silent in public, “ talked ” the 
word in private . 1 Even the women, in their ap¬ 
propriate. sphere, were employed in this work. 


i Acts 18: 26. 


LICENSE FOR ALL TO TREACH. 


41 


One of them acted the part of a theological pro¬ 
fessor to the eloquent Apollos, instructing him 
more perfectly in the Gospel. Others were help¬ 
ers of the Apostle Paul . 1 

The commission is repeated in the last chapter 
of Revelation, in a still broader form : “ The 

Spirit and the Bride say ‘come.’” The Holy 
Spirit of God speaking silently to the heart of 
the sinner says, “ come.” The “ Bride,” the 
Lamb’s wife, which is the church, composed of 
the body of believers, says, “ come.” And, lest 
this should be misunderstood, and taken to mean 
the church speaking only through her ministers, 
or by her official acts, as a body corporate, it is 
added, “ and let him that hearetii say, “ come.” 
The idea is, that of a crier, proclaiming good 
news as he runs; and every one that hears, takes 
up and repeats the tidings, the sound echoing 
from hill to valley, till all shall hear. Here, 
then, is a universal license to every one that 
hears the Gosj)el to make it known to others, 
and use every suitable means, by argument and 
by persuasion, to induce them to receive and 

1 Phil. 4: 3. 

4* 


42 


THE CHRISTIAN SOLDIER. 


obey it. The ministry are indeed the authorized 
public teachers of the word; the leaders and 
standard-bearers of the sacramental host. But, as 
well might we look to the officers of an army to 
do all the fighting, as to expect ministers to do all 
the preaching. Every follower of Christ is a 
Christian soldier, enlisted under the banner of the 
great Captain of our salvation, to conquer this 
world to Him. And it is his business to be actively 
engaged in the conflict, and not merely to appear 
on parade days, and listen to the officers exjmund- 
ing the rules and regulations of the army. It is 
his duty^rs*, to understand the Gospel; to receive 
it into his own heart; and to present a living em¬ 
bodiment of it before the world in a godly and 
devout life; and then to use all the powers which 
God has given him to teach it to others, and per¬ 
suade them to embrace it. 

The heart that is touched with the love of Christ 
needs no urging to this duty. “The love of Christ 
constraineth us; because we thus judge that, if 
one died for all, then were all dead.” The first 
aspirations of the new-born soul are for this work. 
After he has “ tasted the wormwood and the gall,” 


THE NEW CONVERT PREACHER. 


43 


and experienced in himself what an evil and bitter 
thing sin is; and when his eyes have been opened 
to the beauty and glory of Christ, and the richness 
and freeness of his salvation, he longs that others 
should share with him so great a blessing. Thus 
David says, “Come hither, all ye that fear the 
Lord, and I will tell you what he hath done for 
my soul.” Andrew, when he was called, went and 
found his own brother Simon, and brought him to 
Jesus. Philip found Nathaniel. And all those whom 
Jesus healed published abroad what he had done 
for them, and induced others to come and be healed. 
This is one reason Avhy the work of God goes on 
so rapidly in times of awakening. Every new 
convert becomes a preacher of the Gospel, unfold¬ 
ing to his associates the precious word of life, 
which he has received into his own heart, with all 
the freshness and zeal of one just brought “out of 
darkness into God’s marvellous light.” 

If any one objects that this would be intruding 
upon the prerogatives of the ministry, we say that 
the true ministers of Christ claim no monopoly of 
the word of life. We are not to confound the 
Christian ministry with the Jewish priesthood. 


44 


MINISTERS NOT PRIESTS. 


This is one of the worst errors of Romanism. 
The Christian minister is in no sense a in'iest . 
Christ is the only Priest known to the new dispen¬ 
sation. When it was said, “And no man taketh 
this honor upon himself but he that was called of 
God as was Aaron; ” the allusion is, to a direct 
miraculous call from God, a call to the priestly 
office. The priest’s office w^as typical, and no one 
was allowed to enter it, but one of the regular 
succession of the true lineage of Aaron. But the 
office of prophet or teacher was open to all. And 
when young Joshua, in his zeal for the honor 
of Moses, complained of Eldad and Medad, who 
prophesied in the camp, without a direct and 
public commission, and said, “ My lord Moses, for¬ 
bid them,” that meek man of God replied, “Enviest 
thou for my sake ? Would God that all the Lord’s 
people were prophets.” So, when Christ’s disciples 
informed him that they had forbidden a man who 
was casting out devils in his name, because he 
followed not them, he replied, “ Forbid him not, 
for he that is not against us is on our part.” No 
man can intrude into the pastoral office, without a 
special call; but I find nothing in Scripture to 


FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE. 


45 


prevent a man from addressing his fellow men, on 
the subject of religion, either in public or in pri¬ 
vate, more than on any other subject; or that pro¬ 
hibits any Christian, man or woman, conversing as 
freely on this subject as on any other. And this 
is preaching the Gospel, and often in the most 
effective manner. This was, to a great extent, the 
primitive mode of preaching; and it is the mode 
necessarily adopted by the missionaries among the 
heathen, before they can organize regular congre¬ 
gations. It is the only mode by which our “ home 
heathen” can be reached. There is the same 
necessity for carrying the Gospel from house to 
house, and speaking it openly in the streets and 
in public places, to the heathen at our door, as to 
the heathen in India or China. 

The business of reclaiming a lost world is com¬ 
mitted to the church, in conjunction with the Holy 
Spirit. It is the business of the church to apply 
the truth to the consciences of sinners. It is the 
office of the Spirit to make it effectual to their 
salvation. “ The Spirit and the bride say, come.” 
And the church is made up of the individuals which 
compose it. The church, as a corporate body, has 


46 


HARLAN PAGE. 


no soul. Responsibility rests upon individuals. 
The Scriptures recognize the conversion of sinners 
as in some sense the work of the Christian: “ He 

that converteth a sinner from the error of his way 
shall save a soul from death, and hide a multitude 
of sins .” 1 “Others save with fear, pulling them 
out of the fire .” 2 “ Then will I teach transgressors 
thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto 
thee .” 3 God is pleased to use his people as instru¬ 
ments in this work; and ordinarily he blesses their 
faithful labors and prayers, by the cooperation of 
his Holy Spirit. We cannot be certain beforehand 
that he will do so in an individual case; neither 
can we be certain, when we plant and sow, that 
God will give the increase. But ordinarily the 
one follows with as much regularity and uniformity 
as the other. Harlan Page was a man of no more 
ability than thousands of Christians, who now 
belong to the church of Christ. But he was 
enabled to say, on his death-bed, “ I think I have 
had evidence that more than one hundred souls 
have been converted to God, through my own 
direct and personal instrumentality.” The same 

1 Jas. 5: 20. 2 j u de 23. 3 Ps. 51: 12. 


IN SEVEN YEARS. 


47 


« 


earnest prayer and faithful effort on the part of 
other Christians would doubtless be crowned with 
similar success. And if every Christian would 
follow his example, how long would it be before 
the whole world would be converted to God? 
We will suppose there are ten thousand Christians 
in Brooklyn. There may be twice that number. 
Let every one of them be the means of converting 
one soul every year, and these converts do the 
same, and every soul in the city would be con¬ 
verted in four years. Let the same course be pur¬ 
sued in all the world, and supposing there are no 
more than ten millions of real Christians, the whole 
world would be converted in seven years. 

If you saw your neighbor’s house on fire, while 
he and his family were asleep in it, you would not 
stand by and say, “ I am not a regular fireman; it 
is not my business to interfere.” You would not 
ask for any commission. You would not think of 
waiting for him to open the door. You would 
make no ceremony of entering. And even though 
they, in their drowsiness, should order you away, 
you would persist in your purpose, and if necessary 
break the door to effect an entrance. But your 


48 


POWER OF THE GOSPEL. 


fellow-creatures, living in sin, are exposed to a 
danger as much more imminent and dreadful as 
eternity is longer than time. Their house is on 
fire. The flames of hell are already kindling under 
their feet. If we do not rescue them, they may 
be lost. W e have no more right to allow them to 
go down to the pit unwarned, than we have to sit 
at ease, and look calmly on, while our neighbor 
and his family are consumed in their burning 
dwelling. Nor have we any right to limit the 
Gospel or the power of the Holy Spirit, and to say 
of any class of men, that God’s appointed means 
of grace cannot reach them. The Gospel of the 
grace of God has reached all classes of men, from 
the filthy and besotted bushmen of Africa, to the 
refined and cultivated British nobleman; from the 
bold blaspheming infidel to the bigoted and super¬ 
stitious papist; from the voluptuary of Corinth to 
the Pharisaical and persecuting Saul of Tarsus. 
And what it has done, it can do again. It will 
never lose its power until “ every knee shall bow, 
and every tongue confess ” to Christ as Lord of all. 


CHAPTER III. 


PEELINGS OF CHRISTIANS IN VIEW OF THE UN¬ 
CONVERTED. 

In a time of general awakening, the compas¬ 
sion of Christians for their unconverted friends 
and acquaintances is stirred up to a state of in¬ 
tense emotion. The reason is, that their faith is 
so quickened by the Holy Spirit as to give a vivid 
reality to unseen things. They see the perilous 
condition of sinners, and have some apprehension 
of the dishonor which they are doing to God and 
his Son Jesus Christ. But these things are no 
greater realities at such times than they are at all 
times; and there is no sufficient reason why these 
feelings should not continue till the cause is re¬ 
moved. With the Apostle Paul, these feelings 
were j>ermanent. Hear him: “ I say the truth in 
Christ, my conscience also bearing me witness in 
the Holy Ghost, that I have great heaviness and 
continual sorrow in my heart; for I could wish that 
5 


50 


FEELINGS OF PAUL. 


myself were accursed from Christ, for my brethren, 
my kinsmen according to the flesh.” Their con¬ 
dition lay heavy on his heart; and he could never 
direct his thoughts to it without occasioning the 
deepest grief. It was not a transient sorrow, 
which time wore away, or which was dissipated 
or forgotten by diversity of scenes or occupations. 
It was continual, a deep and settled grief. And 
what could have such an effect upon the elastic, 
buoyant spirit of Paul, whose soul was borne up 
under the weightiest afflictions by heavenly con¬ 
solations? It was sympathy for his brethren of 
the Jewish nation who had rejected Christ. He 
knew the “terror of the Lord,” and he was af¬ 
fected to the deepest sorrow, when he contem¬ 
plated the eternal sufferings which awaited them 
in the world to come. And so deeply was he 
affected with the view which he had of their case, 
that he expresses his willingness, were the thing 
possible, to be cut off from all the benefits which 
he expected to receive from Christ, if by that 
means they could be saved. This does not mean 
that he really wished to be separated from Christ, 
or that he would be willing to be cast off forever, 


MOSES’S FEELINGS. 


51 


and thus become an enemy of God. This he 
could not be willing to be. But it was a sincere 
expression of his feelings towards his brethren, 
which would lead him to make every possible 
sacrifice of his own interest for their salvation. 
Moses expresses similar feelings, when interceding 
for the children of Israel: “ O, this people have 
sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of 
gold; yet now, if thou Avilt, forgive their sin; and 
if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which 
thou hast Avritten! ” It is a sudden burst of dis¬ 
interested feeling which sinks self in a deep and 
fervent desire for the good of others. It is an 
exercise of the same spirit that led Christ to offer 
up himself for the salvation of men. And in 
some degree eA^ery Christian must partake of the 
same spirit. In Christ, it was divine compassion 
pouring out his soul unto death for sinners. In 
Paul, it Avas a sacrifice of every thing earthly, and 
a Avillingness, if it Avere possible and necessary, to 
sacrifice all things for the same object. This 
sympathy for souls made Jesus “a man of sor- 
roAvs and acquainted with grief.” It gave Paul 
“ great lieaAdness and continual sorrow of heart.” 


52 


CONDITION OF SINNERS. 


When we see our friends and others around us 
in an impenitent state, we ought to sympathize 
with these feelings of Paul and of Jesus. The 
impenitent are in a sad state. They are sinners 
against God, unpardoned and unreconciled to him. 
They are set in opjiosition to the supreme good. 
Sin is opposed to holiness. God is holy. There¬ 
fore, sinners are opposed to God. This is a sad 
state to be in; “for who hath hardened himself 
against God and prospered?” Who can contend 
with the Almighty ? The sinner is already con¬ 
demned by the law, which he has a thousand 
times violated. Having set himself in opposition 
to God, he can no longer look up to him as his 
Father. He is “ without God ” in the world. 
Yet, he is absolutely dependent upon God. It 
is by God’s forbearance that he lives. It is upon 
God’s free bounty that he subsists. He is cut off 
from Christ by his impenitence and unbelief. He 
has “ no part nor lot ” in the great salvation. He 
lias no consolation in God upon earth, and no hope 
of heaven. If he is in affliction, he has no comfort; 
and beyond this life, all is darkness and terror. 
He is “ already condemned,” and “ the wrath of 


SYMPATHY FOR SOULS. 


53 


God abideth on him.” And yet, he is insensible 
to his condition. He is trifling away his day of 
probation without any effort to secure everlasting 
life. He treads with light step and mirthful heart 
on the brink of the precipice. He sleeps on the 
verge of the burning volcano. The feelings exer¬ 
cised by Paul are therefore the natural expression 
of sympathy. Can you see your friend suffering 
the agonies of a painful disease, in the most immi¬ 
nent peril of his life, and not feel for him ? How 
much more, when the disease of sin is upon his 
soul, and he is in the most imminent peril of eter¬ 
nal death? Do you say that such feelings are 
vain and useless, because nothing that you can do 
will alter the case? You might as well say so 
with reference to your grief on account of tempo¬ 
ral suffering and danger. Your grief, of itself, 
will not mitigate the suffering nor diminish the 
danger. The sovereignty of God is exercised in 
the one case as well as in the other. But such 
feelings as have been described are necessary and 
proper in both cases, and most intimately con¬ 
nected with deliverance. Such a state of feeling 
5 * 


54 


APPROPRIATE EMOTIONS. 


is necessrry to lead us to make suitable efforts to 
secure the salvation of sinners. 

God has been pleased, in the economy of his 
mercy, in a great measure to connect the salvation 
of sinners with the prayers and efforts of his peo¬ 
ple. He gives his Holy Spirit in answer to their 
prayers. He has committed to them the dispensa¬ 
tion of his truth. And by the truth, through the 
Spirit, sinners are converted. But, in effectual, 
fervent prayer, there must be deep emotion. There 
must be a pressing sense of want, with an agoniz¬ 
ing desire for the object sought. If your child 
were sick, struggling in convulsive agonies, and 
drawing nigh unto death, would you not be 
deeply affected ? Would you not, like David, 
prostrate yourself in the dust before God, and fast 
and pray and mourn over him as long as there 
was any hope ? But the soul of your child is sick 
with sin. The disease is increasing more and 
more upon him. It is becoming more and more 
seated and confirmed. It is making rapid pro¬ 
gress, and if not speedily arrested, it -will destroy 
him forever. Is it not equally reasonable that 
you should be moved with intense feeling, to fast 





MEANS TO BE EMPLOYED. 


55 


and pray, and employ every means in your power 
to arrest the disease, and restore him to health ? 
And has not God put in your power as many 
means for his deliverance from sin, as for his re¬ 
covery from natural sickness ? He has promised 
to hear your prayers. He has given you the 
means of operating on the seat of the disease, by 
distilling divine truth, the medicine of the soul, 
into his mind, and impressing it upon his heart. 
But you will never do this, until you have a deep 
and moving sense of his condition, that will lead 
you, like Paul, to be in great heaviness and con¬ 
tinual sorrow of heart in his behalf. You never 
send for a physician to your child, unless you have 
some impression that he is really in danger. 
Neither will you seek healing mercy for your 
sin-sick child till you have an impressive sense of 
his condition as a lost sinner. If there is any 
truth in the alleged connection between the 
prayers and efforts of Christians and the conver¬ 
sion of sinners, the state of feeling described is 
indispensable. And, if you are insensible to their 
condition, you need not wonder that they go 
securely on, apprehending no danger. 


56 


REGARD FOR GOD. 


A proper regard for God would likewise natu¬ 
rally lead to the exercise of such feelings as have 
been described. He is daily dishonored by im¬ 
penitent sinners. They cast off his authority, 
refuse obedience to his law, and despise his mercy. 
They reject the Son of God, the Saviour of men. 
They despise his cross and trample on his blood, 
which was shed for the remission of sins. They 
live in the neglect of all their obligations to God 
and his Son Jesus Christ. If we regard God as 
our Father, and Jesus Christ as our Friend and 
Redeemer, we cannot but be deeply affected, 
when we see them thus treated by our fellow- 
men; much more, by our friends, even our own 
children. How would a man feel, to see his own 
brothers and sisters treat his father with similar 
indignity? And shall we not have as much 
regard for our Heavenly Father? Have we not 
professedly set him in our hearts above every 
other object ? And shall we be less affected with 
indignity offered to him, than if it were offered to 
an earthly friend? Do we love God above all? 
And can we bear to see our dearest earthly friends 
at enmity against him? Do we love Jesus? 


GIUEF IN VIEW OF SIN. 


57 


Have we embraced him as our Saviour ? And do 
we regard him as our greatest Benefactor, to whom 
we owe everything ? And can we bear to see 
him despised and rejected, and his salvation neg¬ 
lected and slighted, by the majority of the people 
where we dwell, and even by some of our nearest 
friends? How can we be otherwise affected by 
these things than to exercise “great heaviness and 
continual sorrow ” of heart ? Is it not suitable 
and proper to be exercised with sorrow in view 
of injury attempted against so holy and just and 
good a Being as God is ? He so regards it. 
When he determined to bring great and sore 
judgments upon his ancient people for their sins, 
he directed one of his ministering spirits to “go 
through the midst of the city, and set a mark 
upon the foreheads of the men who sigh and cry 
for the abominations that be done in the midst 
thereof;” and then he forbids the destroyer to 
come near any man “upon whom is the mark.” 
This shows his pleasure at the manifestation of 
grief on account of sin. Hence we infer that 
such feelings as Paul expresses on account of pre- 


58 


SCRIPTURE EXAMPLES. 


vailing impenitence and unbelief, must be suitable 
and proper, and pleasing to God. 

Such a state of feeling, on the part of Christians, 
accords with the highest examples we have in 
scripture and in the history of the church. Such 
were the feelings of Moses, on the occasion already 
referred to. His soul was struggling with emo¬ 
tions too big for utterance. He felt that existence 
would be a burden to him if his request was not 
granted. He desired not to live and see Israel, 
his beloved people, exposed to the just punishment 
of their sin. At other times, also, when the- chil¬ 
dren of Israel provoked the Lord by their unbelief 
and hardness of heart, he prostrated himself in the 
dust before the Lord. So did Joshua and the 
elders of Israel, when the children of Israel turned 
their backs before their enemies. They were af¬ 
fected not only to see Israel smitten, but to see 
the cause of the Lord decline, through the sin of 
his people. He had witnessed the wonders which 
the Lord had done in the wilderness. He had just 
seen the walls of Jericho fall down, to make a way 
for their entrance into the city. But now there 
was a reverse, Israel was smitten before their ene- 


ZEAL FOR GOD’S HONOR. 


59 


my. On this account his soul was in an agony 
of grief, and he gave utterance to that earnest 
prayer, in which he appeals to God, and says ? 
“ What wilt thou do unto thy great name ? ” He 
was greatly concerned for the honor of God, which 
was involved in this thing, “for,” says he, “the 
Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land 
shall hear of it, and shall environ us around, and 
cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt 
thou do unto thy great name f ” But is not the 
honor of God equally involved in the prosperity of 
religion among us ? If our children grow up un¬ 
converted, and the mass of the irreligious remain 
in their present state, and religion dies out of the 
land, who will make mention of the name of the 
Lord? The feelings of Joshua on this occasion 
are an example for Christians. 

Similar feelings were exercised by Samuel on 
the defection of Saul. The Psalmist was deeply 
moved for the honor of God, when he looked upon 
sinners: “ Horror hath taken hold upon me,” says 
he, “ because of the wicked that forsake thy law.” 
“ Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because 
they keep not thy law.” “ I beheld the transgres- 


60 


IMPENITENCE. 


sors and was grieved, because they kept not thy 
word ” This is the genuine feeling of the true 
child of God, in view of sin. He is zealous for the 
honor of God. He does not need to see intemper¬ 
ance stalking abroad in the streets, nor to hear the 
name of God profaned, nor to behold any other 
open wickedness, in order to be grieved. Impeni¬ 
tence is enough. This is refusing obedience to 
God, and withholding confidence from him. It is 
rebellion and indignity. It is a grief to the godly 
to see it. Thus Jeremiah grieved: “If ye will not 
hear, my soul shall weep in secret places for your 
pride; and mine eyes shall weep sore, and run 
down with tears.” Paul gives utterance to similar 
feelings, at various places: At Ephesus, he says, 
for the space of three years, he ceased not to warn 
every one, night and day, with tears. To the 
Philippians, he says, “ For many walk, of whom I 
have told you often, and now tell you, even weep¬ 
ing, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ.” 
In the first instance, he was moved with tender 
compassion for the souls of those whom he warned, 
because he saw them exposed to eternal death. 
In the other, he was moved for the honor of 


Christ’s example. 


61 


Christ, because some who professed his name, 
showed, by their w^alk, that they were the enemies 
of the cross of Christ. 

But especially was this spirit manifested by 
Christ himself. He had no sins of his own to 
mourn over. He had no burdens of his own to 
bear. The treatment he received from the world 
was of itself insufficient to disturb his equanimity. 
He had, for himself, no fears as to the future. He 
looked forward only to “the joy that was set be¬ 
fore him.” Why, then, did he weep ? Why was 
he “ a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief?” 
He wept through compassion for lost and guilty 
men. He was moved with compassion, when he 
saw the multitude as sheep having no shejffierd. 
And, when he looked from the heights of Mt. Oli¬ 
vet, and beheld the city of Jerusalem, teeming 
with inhabitants, devoted to destruction, he wept 
over it. And doubtless, many of those solitary 
hours, which he spent alone in the mountains, at 
the dead of night, were spent in sorrow for the 
miseries of man, whom he came to save. And 
Paul says we must be partakers of the sufferings 
of Christ, and as it were, “ fill up that which is be- 
6 



62 


SPIRIT OF REVIVALS. 


hind of the afflictions of Christ, for his body’s sake, 
which is the church.” And how can we do this, 
except by sympathizing with Christ in sorrow for 
the souls of men ? 

Such has ever been the spirit of the church, in 
her brightest days. In the memoirs of holy men, 
in ages past, we find this the prominent exercise 
of their minds. Next to sorrow for their own sins 
was their sorrow in behalf of Christless souls. This 
was predicted of the church in the “ latter days,” 
and it is realized in every Revival of Religion. At 
such seasons, the church is bowed down in deep 
sorrow, not only for her own sins, but to seek the 
salvation of souls. Previous to an awakening, the 
burden of souls is laid upon the hearts of Chris¬ 
tians, so that they sympathize with that “great 
heaviness and continual sorrow of heart,” expressed 
by the apostle. And great results have always 
followed intercessory prayer, offered up to God, 
under the pressure of this feeling. And how glo¬ 
rious the day, predicted by the Prophet Zechariah, 
when this spirit shall pervade the whole church; 
when there shall be a universal mourning for sin; 
when the Lord shall pour upon the house of David 




THE NECESSARY SPIRIT. 


63 


and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, upon all branches 
of the church, a “spirit of grace and supplication;” 
when they shall “ look on him whom they have 
pierced, and mourn for him as one mourneth for 
his only son, and be in bitterness for him as one is 
in bitterness for his first-born” Then shall a “na¬ 
tion be born in a day,” and the Lord shall extend 
peace to Zion as a river. 

The possession of this spirit of sympathy for 
souls, and earnest desire for their salvation, is ne¬ 
cessary to prepare us to enter upon the work of 
extending the gospel among the “ heathen at our 
door ” As long as we can look upon them with 
indifference, and feel no responsibility in relation 
to their condition, we shall make no efforts to 
bring them to Christ. But how can a Christian, 
who has the love of Christ in his heart, and who 
feels for the honor of God, live in a community 
where from two thirds to six sevenths of the peo¬ 
ple live in the neglect of religion, and not be 
deeply moved ? 


CHAPTER IY. 


A PLAN FOR CARRYING THE GOSPEL TO “EVERY 
CREATURE ” IN THE LAND. 

CITIES. 

TnE evangelization of cities is one of the great 
problems of the age. The difficulties in the way 
of bringing the masses under the influence of the 
gospel are, perhaps, greater than in the country. 
The extremes of society are at a greater distance 
from each other. The expense of maintaining 
Gospel Institutions is much greater, while the 
means of the numerical majority are more strait¬ 
ened. The provisions which the wealthy and 
middling classes make for themselves do not reach 
the poor; and if places of worship are provided 
especially for the poor, we counteract the leveling 
principle of the gospel, which brings the “ rich and 
poor together,” before the Lord, the Maker of all. 
We have already shown the impracticability of 
reaching these masses, by simply opening places 


FAMILY-YI SITING. 


65 


of worship, and making public proclamation of 
the Gospel. Sufficient provision could not be 
made; and if it could, the people would not avail 
themselves of the privilege. The following plan 
has been adopted in the cities of New York and 
Brooklyn, and some other cities, and to a consid¬ 
erable extent carried out, with the most encour¬ 
aging results. It is equally well adapted to every 
other city. 

I. The city is divided into districts and to each 
evangelical church is assigned a district corres- 
ponding in size to the number of members and 
ability of the church. Efforts are made, by a gen¬ 
eral committee of supervision, to induce every 
church to take the district assigned to it, and 
become responsible for its permanent visitation, so 
as not to leave in the city a single neglected family. 

II. When a church has received its district, the 
first thing to be done is, to have it surveyed, and 
the number of families in each house ascertained. 
Then a map should be made, with the number of 
each house marked upon it, and the number of 
families in each house. This should then be 
divided into sub-districts, embracing from five to 

6 * 


66 


OBJECTS IN VISITING. 


twenty families, according to tlie number of visit¬ 
ors to be enlisted. The smaller the districts, the 
more likely it will be to succeed. If more than 
the latter number is assigned to a visitor, the work 
will be too onerous, and will be likely to be 
given up from mere inability to perform it. The 
next step is, to have a meeting of the church, and 
after a full presentation of the subject, the districts 
should be given out to volunteers. In one of the 
churches in Brooklyn, such a meeting was held, 
the pastor taking the lead in accepting a district, 
and nearly a hundred visitors volunteered on 
the spot. The following objects are embraced in 
this visitation: 

1. The first and most prominent object should be, 
the spiritual good of every family and every indi¬ 
vidual; endeavoring, by personal conversation, 
and other means, to lead the unconverted to Christ. 

2. Persuading those who have no place of wor¬ 
ship to connect themselves with some Christian 
Congregation. 

3. Inducing parents to send their children to 
Sabbath schools. This is one of the primary 
objects, if not the chief of all. 


REPORTS FROM VISITORS. 


67 


4. Furnishing Bibles to the destitute and dis¬ 
tributing Religious Tracts. 

5. Reclaiming the vicious and abandoned. 

6. Relieving the suffering poor. 

III. The work should be under the supervision 
of the pastor and a committee of the church, or 
official members, who should see that it is done 
effectually. Each district should be thoroughly 
visited at least once a month; and cases of interest 
should be followed up more frequently. 

IV. One of the weekly prayer-meetings of the 
month should be devoted to hearing rejfbrts from 
the visitors. This exerts a salutary influence upon 
the church, in bringing them into sympathy with 
the work, and inciting them to prayer and effort. 
It likewise operates as a stimulus to the visitors to 
be faithful. 

V. The whole work should be under a central 
supervision, the object of which is, to attend to 
the general districting of the city; the assigning 
of districts to the churches; and to see that the 
wheels are kept in motion. This general super¬ 
vision has been exercised, in the initiation of the 
work in New York and Brooklyn, by the Mission¬ 
ary Committees of the Sabbath School Unions. 


68 


BOAIiD OF DELEGATES. 


But the work is so broad in its design, that it 
needs something more comprehensive. It in fact 
embraces, under one simple agency, the work of 
the Sabbath School Union , the Tract and Bible 
Societies , and the Association for the relief of the 
poor. We propose a Board constituted of one 
delegate from each of the churches, which shall 
embrace all these objects. Then let all the City 
Mission, Bible, Tract, Sabbath School, and Poor 
Associations, surrender their functions to this 
Board. And let this, so far as possible, localize 
both the # work itself, and the collection of funds, 
throwing upon each church the responsibility of 
every thing to be done within its district; the 
Board operating as a bond of union, and doing 
only those things of a general nature, which have 
reference to the whole work, and to keeping it in 
motion. 

It may be asked, “ Wherein does this plan differ 
from that which has been for years pursued by the 
Tract and City Mission Societies?” We answer : 
It takes the matter out of the hands of a central 
organization, outside of the churches, which can 
never secure their effective sympathy and coopera¬ 
tion, and localizes it, so as to bring the responsi- 


DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS. 


G9 


bility nearer home; while it leaves each church 
free to do its own work in its own way. The 
difficulty in the way of uniting different denomi¬ 
nations of Christians, who differ widely in their 
modes of action, to work together in missionary 
efforts, is that every one must surrender liis own 
preferences, and come on to a common ground of 
action, which fully satisfies none. But this plan 
requires no concession, but leaves every one free 
to preserve his own mode of action. It does not 
limit the church, in its denominational action, to 
the district assigned it; but leaves its parish to its 
bounds of elective affinity, in its general action. 
It only requires it to perform certain specific mis¬ 
sionary work within the bounds of its own district. 
And it is understood to be within the discretion of 
each visitor to cease his visits to any family, when 
he ascertains that it is connected with any Chris¬ 
tian congregation and cared for by its pastor and 
members; though he is at liberty to continue his 
visits if he finds them acceptable and sees a pros¬ 
pect of doing good. 1 And if the tract distribu- 

i It is perhaps but just for me to say that in leaving 1 the 
continuance of the visits, in such case, to the discretion of the 


70 


MISSION SABBATH SCHOOLS. 


tion is connected with it, this is necessary. But all 
efforts to proselyte from one evangelical denomina¬ 
tion to another, or from one Sabbath school to 
another, are repudiated and strictly forbidden. 

“ But why not let every church act on its own 
responsibility, choosing its own field, without any 
united action?” 

Because, by such means, the ground cannot be 
fully covered. There is room enough for every 
one to have a specific field of labor; and it is.only 
by division of labor that the work can be done. 
The great difficulty, with the plans heretofore in 
use, is, that they do not sufficiently localize the 
work, and give to every suitable person disposed 
to engage in it, a specific field, which he can culti¬ 
vate in his own way. 

V. Mission Sabbath schools should be estab¬ 
lished in every locality where the population can¬ 
not be provided for in schools already established, 
or where there are children who cannot be gath¬ 
ered into the church schools ; to receive those who 
are persuaded by the visitors to attend, and to 

visitor, I differ from my associates, who consider it necessary 
that they should cease altogether, to prevent jealousy. 


CHAPEL SERVICES. 


71 


furnish a gathering place for the people on the 
Sabbath. 

VI. So far as practicable, a chapel service, with 
regular preaching, should be maintained in con¬ 
nection with the Mission schools. But if no min¬ 
ister can be employed, a service should be main¬ 
tained by the teachers. This is necessary in 
order to furnish public worship for the people, 
so far as a desire for it has been awakened. 

Having thus sketched the plan, we shall illus¬ 
trate its j^ractical operation, and show its adapta¬ 
tion to the end designed, by giving examples and 
results. The keen, sagacious eye of Chalmers, on 
his first entrance upon pastoral labors in a city, 
saw the necessity of some such plan as this. The 
first thing that impressed his mind was the fact 
that such an immense work as that of carrying 
the Gospel to the masses in a great city, could 
never be accomplished by ministers alone. “A 
few weeks in the wynds of the Salt-market had 
wrought the conviction in his mind, that, if these 
swarming multitudes were to be reclaimed, who, 
hidden from the public eye, were living in igno¬ 
rance and guilt, and dying in darkness, a large 


72 


dr. ciialmers’s plan. 


band of fellow-laborers must go down and enter 
with him upon the spiritual cultivation of the 
neglected territory.” His next idea was that of 
localizing the work. The population of the Tron 
parish, in Glasgow, was eleven thousand. The 
system of Sabbath schools in existence when he 
went there, was, to open a school, and invite 
attendance from all parts of the city, but to depend 
on voluntary attendance. On this plan, there 
were not over one hundred children, who attended 
the Sabbath schools, in the whole parish. To 
secure a better attendance, he devised the local 
or mission Sabbath school system. “ He divided 
his parish into forty different sections, allotting 
thirty or forty families to each section. He 
appointed teachers for each section, and told them 
that their specific business was, to go forth within 
the limits Of their respective districts, and visit 
every family, telling them they had a Sabbath 
school in the neighborhood, and requesting the 
parents to send their children to it.” The result 
was, that the attendance upon the Sabbath schools 
in his parish soon increased from one hundred to 
twelve hundred. On his removal from the Tron 


EFFECTS OF SYSTEMATIC EFFORTS. 


73 


church to St. John’s, four of his teachers at the 
Salt-market chose out a new field, containing a 
population of three thousand six hundred souls, 
of whom only one hundred and twenty-eight 
attended Sabbath school. In six months, they 
opened twenty-six schools, with seven hundred 
and thirty-two in attendance. “ The parish of St. 
John was divided into twenty-five districts, called 
proportions , each embracing from sixty to one 
hundred families. In each district one or more 
Sabbath schools were instituted; male and female 
teachers were engaged in the work; while a few 
classes were opened for adult persons.” In ad¬ 
dressing his “ agency,” as he called the persons 
engaged in this enterprise, Dr. Chalmers says, 
“You are well aware of the power and charm 
that I have ever been in the habit of associating 
with locality — how I regard this in fact as the 
only principle on which a crowded town can be 
brought under a right or efficient system of man¬ 
agement— that by the adoption of this principle, 
the population of a city would be in as fair 
circumstances for becoming Christian and moral 
and civilized as the population of any country 
7 


74 


INDIVIDUAL EFFORT. 


parish •— that there is a wide and open door for 
entrance among the families themselves, insomuch 
that, if any Christian philanthropist would assume 
a district for himself, and give his time and atten¬ 
tion to those who reside within its limits, and 
cultivate an acquaintance with them, founded on 
good will to our brethren of the species, and the 
desire in any way to be of service to their interests, 
it is found that there will scarcely a shut door or a 
shut heart be ever met in the prosecution of such 
an enterprise as this, affording therefore free scope 
for all the undertakings of him whose heart de- 
viseth liberal things, and securing that most en¬ 
couraging of all outsets to the work and the labor 
of love, even the almost universal welcome of a 
thankful and cordial population.” The author 
can testify to the same fact, respecting our own 
city population. In visiting many hundreds of 
families, of almost every variety of creed, and of 
no creed, he has, with very few exceptions, been 
kindly and courteously received. Nor are the 
Roman Catholics generally an exception to this 
remark. When they understand that our object 
is not to attack their religious views, nor to prose- 


EDINBURGH. 


75 


lyte, but to do them good, they will receive us 
kindly and converse freely upon faith in Christ, 
and upon spiritual religion. And many of them, 
if they see that we are candid and fair, will enter 
into a kind discussion of those points on which 
we differ. But if we go to the house of a Roman 
Catholic, and make a violent attack on his re¬ 
ligion, telling him abruptly that he is in the way 
to hell, he will resent it, as any other man would 
resent a similar attack. It is to be admitted, 
however, that some of them are so bigoted as 
to abuse any one who speaks to them on the 
subject of religion; but this is not the case with 
the better class of them. 

After Dr. Chalmers’s removal to Edinburgh, he 
selected, as the scene of a similar experiment, a 
part of the city, which, a few years previous, had 
attained an infamous notoriety, by the secret mur¬ 
ders of Burke, who enticed people into his shop, 
and let them down through a trap door, and mur¬ 
dered them for the purpose of selling their bodies 
to the surgeons. “By an actual survey, it was 
found that the main street and its adjoining 
wynds contained four hundred and eleven fain- 


76 


EDINBURGH. 


ilies, of which forty-five were attached to some 
Christian communion; seventy were Roman Cath¬ 
olics ; and two hundred and ninety-six had no 
connection with any church whatever. Out of 
a gross population of two thousand, three fourths 
of the whole were living, within the sound of 
many a church bell and with abundance of con¬ 
tiguous church accommodation, lost to all the 
habits and decencies of the Christian life. In 
these families, the number of children capable of 
attending school was only four hundred and 
eleven, and of these, two hundred and ninety 
were growing up untaught. The physical and 
moral condition of this community was deplora¬ 
ble : one fourth were paupers, on the poor-roll, 
and one fourth were street beggars, thieves, or 
prostitutes. When Mr. Tasker, the minister of 
the West Port, made his first visits to some of 
the filthiest closes, it was no uncommon thing 
for him to find from twenty to thirty men, 
women, and children, huddled together in one 
putrid dwelling, lying indiscriminately on the 
floor, waiting the return of the bearer of some 
well-concocted begging letter or the coming on 


WRETCHEDNESS IN EDINBURGH. 


77 


of that darkness under which they might sally 
out, to earn, by fair means or foul, the purchase 
money of renewed debauchery. Upon one oc¬ 
casion, he entered a tenement with from twelve 
to twenty apartments, where the parents were 
all so drunk that they could not hear their own 
infants crying in vain to them for food. He pur¬ 
chased some bread for the children, and enter¬ 
ing a few minutes afterward a neighboring dram¬ 
shop, he found a half-drunk mother driving a 
bargain for more whiskey with the very bread 
which her famishing children should have been 
eating. He went once to a funeral, and found 
the assembled company all so drunk around the 
corpse, that he had to go and beg some sober 
neighbors to come and carry the corpse to the 
grave.” 

The plan of operations laid down by Dr. Chal¬ 
mers was substantially the same as that in op¬ 
eration in Hew York and Brooklyn. “ The West 
Port was divided into twenty districts, containing 
each about twenty families. Over each of these 
districts a visitor was appointed, whose duty it 
was to visit once each week, all the families com- 
7 * 


78 


A SCHOOL PROJECTED. 


mitted to his care; by all such attention and 
services as he could offer, to win their good-will 
—by reading the Scriptures, by distributing tracts, 
by entering into conversation, and by engaging 
in j>rayer —to promote, as fit openings were given 
him, their spiritual welfare. “ A printed slip, 
drawn up by Dr. Chalmers, 1 was to be left in 
every house. It was proposed that a school be 
opened, and the visitors were advised to direct 
their attention to this subject. A school-room 
was obtained at the end of the very close down 
which Burke and his associates decoyed their 
unconscious victims. “ Fronting the den in which 
those horrid murders were committed, stood an 
old deserted tannery, whose upper store-loft, ap¬ 
proached from without by a flight of projecting 
wooden stairs, was selected as affording the best 
accommodation which the neighborhood could 
supply. Low-roofed and roughly floored, its 
raw, unplastered walls, pierced at irregular in¬ 
tervals with windows of unshapely form, it had 
little, either of the scholastic or ecclesiastical in 

1 This admirable document, which is contained in Vol. IV. of 
Chalmers’ Works, ought to be printed as a tract to be used by 
our visitors. 


WORSHIP IN A TAN-LOFT. 


79 


its aspect; but never was the true work of 
school and church done better than in that old 
tannery-loft of the West Port. Dr. Chalmers 
invited all the inhabitants of the neighborhood 
to meet him there, on Wednesday the 6th of 
November. By this time the frequent calls of 
the visitors had awakened a general curiosity, 
and the invitation was accepted, the loft pre¬ 
senting a larger assembly of what he called “ gen¬ 
uine West-Porters,” than had met together for 
many years. Acting upon the saying of Talley¬ 
rand, which he so often quoted, that ‘there is 
nothing formidable in meeting the very lowest 
of the people, if you only treat them frankly,’ 
Dr. Chalmers told them all that he and his 
friends meant to do for them, and all that he 
expected that they would do for themselves.” 

On the forenoon of Sabbath, December 22, Dr. 
Chalmers opened the tan-loft for public worship, 
after several weeks spent in visiting, with only 
about a dozen adults, mostly old women. But 
three services were regularly kept up on the 
Sabbath, and the visiting continued. Rev. Mr. 
Tasker was employed as preacher. At the close 


80 


TERRITORIAL PRINCIPLE. 


of the year, the nucleus of a good congrega¬ 
tion began to appear. But the place of worship 
was such as to operate as a great hindrance. 
Measures were therefore taken to build a house 
for a school-room and chapel. A library, a sav¬ 
ings bank, a washing-house, and a female indus¬ 
trial school, were established. 

Dr. Chalmers frequently preached, while they 
were in the old loft. He addressed several meet¬ 
ings of the inhabitants, to explain the object of these 
labors. He presided at many of the agents’ meet¬ 
ings, and was the central spring which set the 
machinery in motion. “The very essence of our 
scheme,” he remarked, “lies in the thorough op¬ 
eration of what we call the territorial principle. 
We limit our attention to a single district or lo¬ 
cality, itself split into sub-districts, having each 
a Christian agent attached to it; so that there 
might not be a home or family which might not 
be frequently and habitually visited by one hav¬ 
ing the charge of not more, if possible, than 
twenty households.” 

On Friday, February 19, 1847, the West Port 
church was opened for public worship, by Dr. 


BENEFICIAL RESULTS. 


81 


Chalmers, and on the 25th of April, he presided 
at the first sacrament. In one month, five sixths 
of the sittings were let, three fourths of them be¬ 
ing from the West Port, a locality which two 
years before, had not one church-goer in ten of 
the whole population. Here were one hundred 
and thirty-two communicants, one hundred of 
them from the West Port. When the work 
began, not more than one eighth of the popula¬ 
tion attended any place of worship. In the new 
church, three hundred sittings were taken as soon 
as it was opened. When it began, not one fourth 
of those capable of education were in school — 
now, there were three fourths. In five years, 
there was not a case known of a child of suita¬ 
ble age who was not in school. This result was 
accomplished by the district visiting , and the 
zeal especially of those ladies. The habit of at¬ 
tendance on public worship, by this time, had 
become as general and regular in the West Port, 
as in the best conditioned districts in Edinburgh. 
It was Dr. Chalmers’s conviction that, in the worst 
localities, the means existed and could be evoked, 
by which an effective gospel ministry, if once 


82 


CHILDREN IN NEW YORK. 


created, could afterward be sustained; and the 
history of West Port confirms that conviction. 
At the end of five years, it supported itself, and 
contributed seventy pounds for missionary pur¬ 
poses. 

The results of the plan, so far as it has been 
carried into effect, in New York and Brooklyn, 
are similar to those under the indefatigable ad¬ 
ministration of Dr. Chalmers. Mr. Pardee has 
kindly furnished me with the following state¬ 
ment respecting the work in the city of New 
York: 

“mission sabbath school efforts and systematic 

DISTRICT VISITATION. BY R. G. PARDEE. 

“There are, at the present time, in the city 
of New York, at least 140,000 children and 
youth, between the ages of five and fifteen years; 
and of this number not more than from 80,000 to 
90,000 can be found connected with any Sabbath 
schools, Protestant or Roman Catholic. Of the 
numbers in Sabbath-schools, not more than 45,- 
000 are connected with any church congregation. 
The remaining 95,000 are dependent almost en- 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN NEW YORK. 


83 


tirely upon the Sabbath schools for their moral 
and religious training. And, of that number, at 
least 50,000 are unreached by existing Sabbath 
schools. 

“For forty-two years, the New York Sunday 
School Union have been actively engaged in 
special plans and efforts to reach these destitute 
children; but the rapid increase of our city pop¬ 
ulation has exceeded all efforts in this direction 
until within two years past. 

“The church schools number almost as many 
children of the masses as they do of those belong¬ 
ing to their congregations; and we have in New 
York about 70 Mission Schools, which reach not 
far from 20,000 children during the year. These 
mission schools are really branch schools, or out¬ 
growths, or children of the church schools, or of 
the church, or of reliable brethren, connected with 
our regular church congregations. Independent 
efforts of erratic persons in our city and in Brook¬ 
lyn, to gain a living, under professions of much 
love for the poor children, have for several years 
been productive of much evil to the cause. Of 
the 50,000 unreached children in our city, not 


84 


HAPPY RESULTS. 


more than 15,000 are of Roman Catholic parent¬ 
age, a part of which can be easily reached, while 
the remaining 35,000 are roaming in our streets, on 
the docks, and in the vilest places. Unrestrained 
and untaught at home, they are their own mast¬ 
ers, and do as they list; and they are rapidly 
training to vagrancy, dissoluteness, and crime. 
Row they are all within our reach, not through 
the proclamation of the gospel from the pulpit, 
but from the close personal contact of Christian 
men and women. Sooner or later, the most un¬ 
tamed, uncontrollable, and outrageous of our city 
street children are subdued and brought into 
order and discipline, under the persevering ef¬ 
forts of efficient mission Sabbath school teach¬ 
ers. A cheap process of civilization is here in 
operation among us. Experience has den^on- 
strated its adaptation and success. Rot only are 
these young vagrants and criminals thus civilized; 
but, by the blessing of God on this humble instru¬ 
mentality, they are christianized in great num¬ 
bers, as the experience of the last few months 
fully demonstrates. In one mission school, three 
successive sets of impenitent teachers, numbering 


SYSTEMATIC VISITATION. 


85 


eight, nine, and ten each, have been hopefully con¬ 
verted in as many years, besides a still larger num¬ 
ber of children. Every year some of our mission 
schools grow into churches. Several such cases 
have occurred during the past year, one of which 
commenced less than one year ago, and has already 
grown into a church which numbers one hundred 
and twenty members. Some of our city churches 
sustain three and four mission schools, besides 
their own Sabbath schools; and on each return¬ 
ing communion some of those churches have regu¬ 
larly received additions from their mission schools 
for several years. 

SYSTEMATIC VISITATION. 

“The Missionary Committees of the New York 
and Brooklyn Sabbath School Unions have made 
an effort, during the past two years, to systema¬ 
tize the work of Christian men and women, so as 
fully to cover the various portions of our cities. 
This has been, by the blessing of God, to a great 
extent successful. A large number of the churches 
have undertaken the work, and thousands of visit- 
8 


POPULATION OF NEW YORK. 


ors have heartily entered into it, and prosecuted 
the same most successfully. 

“ Such are the changes in our population, by 
removals and other circumstances, that more than 
1,500 teachers and 10,000 scholars are required to 
be gathered in every year, to fill the vacancies 
thus occasioned, before making any inroads upon 
the neglected masses without. And these masses 
are annually increasing at a rapid rate. In 1820, 
the population of New York was 123,706; in 1830, 
202,580; in 1840, 312,382; in 1850, it had reached 
515,304, being an average increase, in the last 
thirty years, of 62 per cent every ten years. If 
this increase goes on unchecked, the little boy of 
five years, now in the infant class, will, if spared to 
the age of thirty, see a population of two and a 
half millions. It thus becomes a question of great 
moment, what we shall do with our little boys five 
years old. If we imbue their hearts with a love 
of truth and honor, of justice and religion, they 
and our country may be safe. If they are now 
neglected, both may be ruined. More than half 
of the 140,000 children of our city cannot be found 
on any given Sabbath, in any of our schools, Pro- 


SYSTEMATIC VISITATION. 


87 


testant or Catholic. The missionary committee 
saw that no means then in operation could perma¬ 
nently and effectually reach this destitution. They 
therefore engaged earnestly to devise a plan that 
would meet the case ” 

[This was substantially the plan of systematic 
visitation, sketched in the former part of this 
chapter.] 

“ After the plan was matured, accepted and pro¬ 
posed to the churches, the great question remained 
— u Is it feasible f ” “ Will it work f ” For 

months we waited, with anxious solicitude for any 
indications of a favorable response to this ques¬ 
tion. At last the light began to dawn. The pas¬ 
tor of one of our churches, on the 19th of Sejjtem- 
ber, 1857, responded to our plan and appealed to 
his people to carry it out at once. They accepted 
the service, and immediately laid out into sections 
the territory around them, and the work com¬ 
menced. In a few weeks the results were aston¬ 
ishing to all. The Sabbath school teachers and 
scholars were doubled and even trebled, and the 
congregation was largely increased, and the whole 
aspect of things was changed. In rapid succes- 


88 


RESULTS OF VISITATION. 


sion, other churches, of various denominations, 
were applied to to take their sections also; which 
they unhesitatingly did, with similar results: and, 
for months, the work went on — none refusing, 
because “thepeople had a mind to work.” Whole 
divisions of our city, comprising several wards, 
have each entered heartily upon this work, and 
the schools have doubled their pupils; churches 
have been filled up, and in many instances, pre¬ 
cious revivals of religion have followed. We think 
the providence of God has thus abundantly an¬ 
swered the question, and shown that the plan is 
feasible / that it will work. 

“About eighty churches in New York and 
Brooklyn have, within the year past, taken their 
districts, and not less than four thousand visitors 
have been engaged in the work; and many thou¬ 
sands of children have been gathered into the Sab¬ 
bath Schools. One of the churches which entered 
early and very thoroughly into the movement re¬ 
ports seven hundred and eighty new scholars gath¬ 
ered in during the year, by the visitation. An¬ 
other reports five hundred. One church obtained 


CHRISTIAN FEELING PROMOTED. 


89 


one hundred volunteer visitors at the close of a 
prayer meeting, and another, ninety. 

This systematic working movement has devel¬ 
oped a large amount of valuable talent in the 
churches, which before lay dormant. Men and 
women before scarcely known, have shown extraor¬ 
dinary aptness and efficiency, and met with great 
success. Some who entered upon the work with 
great diffidence and much reluctance, have become 
pleased with the service and continued it with 
alacrity and delight. It has, in many instances, 
changed the character of the prayer and confer¬ 
ence meetings, and increased the spirit of harmony 
and brotherly love. Those who have been at work 
in a common field of labor, and who return to 
make their reports and mingle their prayers, soon 
learn to feel more than a passing interest in each 
other. It has done much to promote harmony 
and kind Christian feeling between those of differ¬ 
ent denominations. “ They that feared the Lord 
spake often one to another;” and such Christian 
visits, discreetly and unobtrusively conducted, have 
been productive of great good. 

“This regular systematic visitation carries the 
8 * 


90 


RICH AND POOR VISITED. 


conviction to those who ‘ care for none of these 
things,’ that there is something real in the plan 
which so completely covers with a laborious and 
systematic work all their families and neighbor¬ 
hoods, and conveys the impression that the grand 
army of the followers of Jesus has arisen, and is 
about to take possession of the whole land, in the 
name of their Master. 

“As far as it may be deemed expedient, the vis¬ 
itors generally visit both the rich and the poor, 
neglecting none. And, generally, the visits to the 
rich have been as gratefully received, and met 
with as good results, as among the poor. Great 
caution, however, is always insisted upon. ‘For 
twelve years,’ said one lady to the visitor, ‘ have I 
resided in this great city, and you are the first 
Christian friend who has spoken to me on the sub¬ 
ject, or manifested the least direct personal inter¬ 
est in my spiritual welfare, and I thank you from 
the bottom of my heart, and beg you will not for¬ 
sake me.’ 'Whether high or low, rich or poor, it is 
the saddest of all conditions to be compelled to 
say or feel, ‘No man cares for my soul.’ 

“ And now, let me inquire, in the eloquent lan- 


LARGE ADDITIONS TO CHURCHES. 


91 


guage of the Rev. Dr. Guthrie of Edinburgh, 
‘ Ought not the churches of Christ in this way, to 
cover the whole out-lying population, even as the 
prophet with his own body covered the dead body 
of the child ? ’ 

“Rich and poor have alike had their prejudices 
against Christians and Christianity modified by 
this benign and heavenly work. But the most 
glorious results of this work may be seen in the 
gracious revivals, which, in almost every case have 
succeeded it. In some of the churches, not a sin¬ 
gle communion has occurred since the systematic 
visitation commenced, without additions to those 
churches from the Sabbath schools. To one 
church, more additions had been made, in one 
year, from their Sabbath school than had been 
added to all the other churches belonging to the 
same ecclesiastical body in the same time. The 
wonderful revivals of the past winter could reveal 
a joyful account in connection with this personal 
visitation. But it needs not here to be recorded. 
Every Bible reader knows that it is the divinely 
appointed way for every one to speak to his neigh¬ 
bors and every one to his brother, saying, “ Know 


92 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


the Lord,” until all shall know him, from the least 
even unto the greatest. 

“ The plan comprises the following points: — 

1. Systematizing the work. 

2. Giving to each church its due proportion. 

o. Going to the people; not waiting for them to 
come to us. 

4. Covering the entire ground. 

5. Giving to every Christian church a missionary 
field at their own door. 

6. A convenient field of labor for every church- 
member. 

7. The church the grand training-field for the 
Christian soldier.” 


BROOKLYN. 

Mission Schools. — I am desirous of presenting 
this subject in such a manner as not only to show 
the general results, but the process by which these 
results are attained. And this I can do in no way 
so well as to enter into a history somewhat in 
detail of what has been done. Some of our 
churches are so located, and are conducted on 


DESTITUTE WARDS. 


93 


such an expensive scale, as to render it scarcely 
possible to fulfil the Scripture declaration, “the 
rich and the poor meet together.” For instance, 
in the Third Ward, embracing the Heights, with 
a population of about 9,000, there are fourteen 
churches, including one each of the Roman Catho¬ 
lic, Universalist, and Unitarian; and in this popu¬ 
lation there are very few poor people. Hence 
these churches, while they embrace a large pro¬ 
portion of the wealth and strength of the city 
churches, can do veiy little missionary work, unless 
they do it in some outside efforts. But there are 
many churches differently situated, which do much 
missionary work, and gather into their schools 
large numbers of children not belonging to their 
own congregations. 

On the other hand, there are large sections of 
the city, densely populated, and as destitute as 
this portion is well supplied. For instance, the 
Second Ward, situated north of Fulton street, and 
near the river, with a population of about 8,000, 
has but one church, and that situated on the bor¬ 
der of the ward; and one mission school, embrac¬ 
ing, in all, but 700 children; a large proportion of 


94 


A MISSIONARY FIELD. 


these not belonging to the ward. The Fifth 
W ard, also, situated east of this and extending to 
the Navy Yard, and having a population of 16,000, 
has but one vigorous church, with several small, 
feeble ones, and three mission schools, embracing 
about 1,100 children. The people of these two 
wards are, to a great extent, engaged on the docks; 
in connection with coal, lumber, and stone-yards; 
in heavy manufactures, as of iron, brass, copper, 
white lead, machinery; in distilling and brewing; 
in the Navy Yard, etc. It is as truly a missionary 
field as any part of the world. It should be stated, 
however, that there are several churches on the 
borders of these wards, which draw to some ex¬ 
tent on its population. This is a fair specimen of 
many parts of the city. The limits of the city of 
Brooklyn, before the consolidation, ’which is our 
present field of labor, extend about six miles north 
and south, and in the northern part of it, about 
the same distance east and west. The southern 
half is from one to three miles east and west. 
Spread over this territory, in very unequal propor¬ 
tions, dense in some places, and sparse in others, is 
a population which numbered, in 1855, 139,000, 


CHILDREN IN BROOKLYN. 


95 


and probably now reaches 150,000; composed, in 
some parts, of highly cultivated society, and in 
others of the most degraded of all classes and 
conditions, and of almost all nations, from Ireland 
to Africa, and from Africa to China. The central 
points of divergence are, Fulton Ferry about a 
mile south of the Navy Yard, from which five 
lines of city cars run, every four or five minutes, 
to as many different points distant from three to 
five miles; Montague Ferry, half a mile south of 
Fulton; South Ferry, three quarters of a mile; 
and Hamilton Ferry, nearly a mile and a half 
south. 

We have no census of our children; but esti¬ 
mating them at one fifth of the entire population, 
we should have within the limits of the old city 
of Brooklyn, before the consolidation, 30,000. Of 
these, 19,000 are reported as belonging to our 
evangelical schools, which is an increase of 3,000 
the past year. There still remain 11,000 not 
gathered into these schools. But a large propor¬ 
tion of the children of Roman Catholic parents 
are instructed in the catechisms of their own 
church, in their own Sabbath schools. 


96 


MISSION SABBATH SCHOOLS. 


Seeing, as already stated, the utter impractica¬ 
bility of immediately providing churches and min¬ 
isters for these perishing masses, the value and 
importance of the Mission Sabbath School, as an 
agency that can reach them with the Sabbath and 
an open Bible, is greatly enhanced. It is with 
this view of the subject, as connected with the 
evangelizing of our great cities and large towns, 
that I attach so much importance to the experi¬ 
ments that are being made in this direction, here 
and in New York. I wish to be distinctly under¬ 
stood as not detracting in the least from the value 
and importance of church schools. I have heard 
it intimated more than once, that the true province 
of the Sabbath school is to instruct the children 
of the j)oor; but that, for Christian people, it is 
not needed — that family instruction is better. 
But I have several strong reasons for repudiating 
this sentiment. In the first place, it grates harshly 
upon republican ears, to talk about providing 
institutions especially for the poor. When we 
establish a Mission Sabbath School, it is not be¬ 
cause we would separate the rich and the poor, or 
provide something for the poor that the rich do not 


SABBATII SCHOOL INSTRUCTION. 


97 


need; but because, in consequence of their location 
and circumstances, we cannot get the people whom 
we would reach into the churches or the Sabbath 
schools connected with them. And in the second 
place, I do not believe for a moment that the 
Sabbath School is not needed for the members of 
a Christian congregation. I do not believe that it 
interferes in the slightest degree with parental 
instruction, but the rather affords increased facili¬ 
ties for it. I have brought up a family of children, 
and have kept them in the Sabbath school from 
the time they were old enough to enter till they 
became teachers. During their childhood, I taught 
them the Shorter Catechism, and kept up a regu¬ 
lar system of family instruction, and never found 
myself embarrassed, but always aided, by the Sab¬ 
bath school. And I honestly believe, if the truth 
were known, that there is more family instruction 
now imparted by Sabbath school teachers than 
by any other class of Christians, for the reasons 
that they are familiar with the juvenile mind, have 
become accustomed to teaching, and feel its im¬ 
portance. And, if my recollection is worth any 
thing, there is more family instruction than there 
9 


98 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


was before Sabbath schools were instituted. But 
in addition to this, there is the fact that a large 
proportion of our congregations consist of families 
whose heads are not professors of religion ; and 
in those families it is a fair presumption that there 
cannot be much religious instruction. The Sab¬ 
bath school is certainly needed for them. Then 
let us talk of dispensing with church schools, 
when we are ready to dry up the springs of the 
Croton River or Cochituate Lake. If we were to 
dispense with them, it would soon be impossible 
to get teachers for mission schools. 

I proceed now to give a brief history of our 
Mission Sabbath School operations, entering some¬ 
what into detail, in order to show how the work 
is done. 

1. Prince Street Mission School. —This, so 
far as I can learn, was the earliest Mission School 
in Brooklyn, which came to any thing. It was 
commenced in 1832, when the region where it was 
situated, about a mile from Fulton Ferry, was an 
open field, with a few scattered houses, inhabited 
by poor people. A Christian gentleman went out 
to visit among them; and finding them anxious for 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


99 


religious privileges, he opened a Sabbath school. 
In process of time, as the district filled up with 
inhabitants, two colonies went out from it, and 
established other schools, out of which have since 
grown two churches; and from the Prince Street 
School itself, in 1847, emerged the Central Pres¬ 
byterian Church, which worshipped for some time 
in Willoughby Street, but which has lately erected 
a commodious house of worship in Schermerhorn 
Street, between Kevins and Powers, where they 
have a large congregation and a flourishing Sab¬ 
bath school. They are doing missionary work, 
and they have been blessed with repeated revivals, 
which have brought into the church the flower of 
their youth, and among them many of the scholars 
of the old Prince Street school. A gentleman once 
connected with that school took with him, three 
years ago, fifteen or twenty of these young con¬ 
verts, and established a new Mission School, which 
has become a permanent and flourishing school. 

2. Oephak Asylum. —There is a Mission School 
at the Protestant Orphan Asylum in Cumberland 
Street, which numbers about one hundred and 
twenty-five. During the past winter, there has 


100 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


been a wonderful work of grace in this school. 
One night, after the little orphans had retired to 
rest, it was discovered that they were engaged in 
prayer together. After that, they were encouraged 
to meet together for prayer, and many of them, it 
is believed, have become little children in Christ. 

3. In 1831, a Mission School was established 
east of Fulton Street, out of which has grown the 
Third Presbyterian Church. 

4. In 1840 or 1841, a Mission School was es¬ 
tablished in South Brooklyn, which, in 1842, grew 
into the South Presbyterian Church (Rev. Dr. 
Spear’s), which has become one of the strongest 
and most efficient working churches in the city. 
In 1852, this church established a Mission School, 
which it still sustains, and which is now maintain¬ 
ing a vigorous and useful existence. 

5. Bethel Mission. — The Bethel Mission 
School was established in 1841. It was for many 
years held in Main Street, near Catherine Ferry, 
in a building called “ The Bethel,” designed as a 
preaching place for sailors. It is now held in a 
room over the market, about half way between 
Main and Fulton Streets. The school has been 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


101 


kej)t up with great labor and perseverance for 
seventeen years, and has been a means of blessing 
to many a soul. It reaches a class who would not 
be brought under religious influence without it. 
The school now numbers one hundred and forty 
scholars, the room being full. Meetings are held 
in the school-room, Sabbath afternoons. A single 
incident, connected with it, will show its influence. 
Some years ago, a lady teacher met a boy in the 
street, who had been at the school before, and had 
left it. She endeavored to persuade him to return. 
He replied that he would do so if she would be his 
teacher. To this she assented, and he went with 
her. He continued in her class, was hopefully 
converted, and made a profession of religion. He 
has since established a Mission School in Gowanus, 
which has grown into a Baptist Church. 

This school is sustained chiefly by members of 
the Second Presbyterian Church. It has shared 
largely in the blessing of God, the winter past, 
and a number of persons connected with it have 
united with that church. The field covered by 
this school is the district for visitation assigned to 
the Second Presbyterian Church. The plan has 
9* 


102 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


there been very thoroughly earned out, with the 
best of results. 

Some time ago, a little girl about six years of 
age, belonging to this school, was taken very sick. 
She requested her parents to send for the Superin¬ 
tendent of the school. When he came, she re¬ 
quested him to sing; and she seemed greatly to 
enjoy the hymns that she had sung in the Sabbath 
school. The same request she repeated the second 
time. But, after that, when she had grown weaker, 
she requested him to pray with her. A short 
time before she died, her physician called to see 
her, and she requested him to pray for her; but 
he was not a praying man, and declined; but she 
insisted upon it, till he was compelled to bend over 
her and repeat the Lord’s prayer. The parents 
had lived in the total neglect of religion; but the 
circumstances attending her death so affected them, 
that they were led to attend the meetings at the 
school-room; and they have since become religious 
and united with the church. This shows the influ¬ 
ence of the Mission School, in reaching down into 
the lower strata of sunken humanity and raising 
it up. 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


103 


6. Navy Mission. — This is situated near the 
Navy Yard, in the midst of the destitute popula¬ 
tion of the fifth ward. It was established in 1844. 
It has connected with it a corporate society, or¬ 
ganized under the general law for religious socie¬ 
ties, which owns a convenient chapel, built early 
in the history of the enterprise. It is so far from 
the churches from which it draws its teachers that 
it always suffers for want of them. 

7. City Park Mission. — This school was first 
organized in September, 1844, Jasper Corning, 
Esq., Superintendent. It was commenced in a 
room on the corner of Nassau Street and Hudson 
Avenue. It continued, with an average of one 
hundred scholars and fifteen teachers, till May, 
1846, when they were deprived of their room, and, 
being unable to procure another, it was suspended. 
Much good was done during this time. The chil¬ 
dren were not only instructed in the knowledge of 
Christ, but, in needful cases, fed and clothed. 

On the 27th of June, 1848, a reorganization of 
the school was effected, at a meeting of some of 
the teachers and friends of the school, who ap¬ 
pointed Mr. I. N. Judson Superintendent, and 


104 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


J. T. Davenport assistant superintendent. It was 
opened on the first day of July, in the same place 
as before, with seventeen scholars and six teachers 
in the morning, and eight teachers and twenty- 
seven scholars in the afternoon. The increase was 
gradual, until the school reached one hundred 
scholars. In a year or two it numbered one hun¬ 
dred and fifty scholars. 

In the spring of 1850, the teachers with the 
help of their friends, purchased a lot of ground 
and erected thereon a commodious school-room, 
which will seat, in the principal room, one hun¬ 
dred and eighty, and seventy-five in the infant 
department. This room has been enlarged the 
past year, by the addition of a gallery, which has 
led to a corresponding increase. 

The penny collections, taken up in this school, 
in the morning and afternoon of each Sabbath, 
amounted, in seven years, to one thousand dollars. 

A weekly Teachers’ Meeting for prayer and for 
the study of the lessons, has been kept up with 
considerable interest; and in the winter, hundreds 
of comfortable garments have been made up and 
given to the poor scholars, by the “Sewing Circle” 
connected with the school. 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


105 


During the year past, a chapel effort has been 
sustained, with preaching on the Sabbath, and 
prayer-meetings during the week. This school 
has a District for visitation, embracing about a 
dozen blocks, with over eight hundred families. 
This is divided into more than forty sub-districts, 
about three fourths of which have been taken, and 
pretty thoroughly canvassed. Besides which, the 
minister in charge has visited most of the families 
included in these bounds. These labors have re¬ 
cently been blessed. During the winter months, 
the meetings were of deep interest; and there are 
a goodly number who trust that they have been 
brought from darkness to light. A church has 
been organized, and a number of these converts 
have been gathered into it. Religion has been 
thus carried into a number of families where there 
was none before; and persons who have long 
lived in the neglect of public worship have been 
induced by their children to attend the meetings, 
and thereby have been led to the Saviour. 

8. Warren - Street Mission. — The neighbor¬ 
hood of the South Ferry had been for a long time 
the resort of the vicious and abandoned of all na- 


106 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


tions; but God put it into the hearts of a few 
brethren, to attempt something in behalf of this 
moral desolation. “ A Sabbath school teacher, 
broken down in health by incessant labors in 
New York, had retired to Brooklyn to break 
away from every association that should tax the 
enfeebled body or mind. The force of habit, 
however, was soon found to render a listless ease 
impossible. It was harder work to rest than to 
labor. Before the days of the first summer had 
begun to wane, under the shade of some trees in 
State Street, the Bible was first read to a group 
of Irishmen, assembled to smoke and to swear, on 
Sabbath afternoon. Several heard with deep in¬ 
terest and emotion, what was to them a new as¬ 
pect of a truth they possibly before had vaguely 
apprehended, but now understood to be a personal 
appeal to them on a new theme,— a Saviour’s 
dying love for lost souls, — only to be person¬ 
ally availed of by a faith, which several of them 
soon felt to be the only ground of their justifi¬ 
cation. The communication of this new discov¬ 
ery to their wives at home, brought out new 
forms of threatened persecution. The wives said 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


107 


they would not only pursue their husbands, but 
their teacher, with scalding water all over the 
neighborhood, unless it should cease. The mat¬ 
ter was not, however, abandoned till the opposi¬ 
tion in the neighborhood had begun to work sad 
consequences. But the very mothers, who broke 
up the peace of their households, though willing 
to appease their consciences and their priest, by 
making these hostile demonstrations, would yet 
suffer their children, in many instances, to be 
readers and learners in a Bible, they would not 
suffer to come into their houses, though the one 
read under the tree was their own Douay Bible.” 
It was therefore resolved to establish a Sabbath 
school. A commodious hall was procured on the 
corner of Columbia and Amity Streets; and a 
Sabbath school was opened on the 30th of May, 
1847. But before the hour of opening, a company 
of twenty or thirty suspicious-looking youth were 
gathered around the building, who, on the opening 
of the door, rushed in with deafening cries and 
hideous yells. The minutes of the morning ses¬ 
sion say : “ School opened with — nothing — 
closed with — nothing. Three teachers and one 


108 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN 


visitor met to arrange the benches and get the 
names of scholars. Two of the teachers went 
out and brought in thirteen scholars, whose names 
were registered.” “ Afternoon ,—School opened 
by singing and some remarks. Closed with noise . 
Xot much done. Being the first time the schol¬ 
ars met, there was great confusion and noise, so 
that the school was finally broken up.” The 
succeeding Sabbath, the room was again opened; 
but owing to the small number of teachers, and 
the outlandish character of the young men that 
entered, not much progress was made for sev¬ 
eral weeks. 

Meetings were held by the teachers once a 
week, to talk over the interests of the enterprise 
and strengthen each other’s resolution. The work 
was continued with perseverance, and a steady in¬ 
crease of scholars and teachers was the result. 
On the lGth of September following, a society was 
organized and a constitution adopted. The teach¬ 
ers’ meetings have been continued weekly to the 
present time, and the school has always maintained 
two sessions. 

The original idea of the founders of this enter- 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


109 


prise was, not only to instruct the youth in this 
school, but by going from house to house in the 
neighborhood, to introduce the word of life into 
the families, and endeavor to supply their moral 
wants. With this object in view, as well as that 
of gathering in scholars, the neighborhood was 
districted, and a portion assigned to each teacher. 
That system has been continued to the present 
time. 

A Sewing Society was established by the ladies 
connected with the school, soon after its forma¬ 
tion, to supply clothing to the destitute families 
and children, which has been of great service 
to the enterprise, and enabled many to receive 
instruction in the school, who would not other¬ 
wise have been gathered in. About one hundred 
dollars have been dispensed in this way every year. 

At length, as the school increased, it was found 
necessary to provide better accomodations; and 
early in 1852, books of subscription were opened 
for the purpose, and in November following, they 
were able to enter a commodious chapel, which 
would hold a school or a congregation of several 
hundreds. 


10 


110 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


Up to the time of entering the new house, the 
expenses of the school averaged about five hun¬ 
dred dollars a year, besides what was expended 
by the ladies’ sewing society. 

The new building is held by a society incorpo¬ 
rated under a general law authorizing societies 
to be formed for benevolent and missionary pur¬ 
poses. 

Soon after coming into their new house, the 
society employed Rev. Samuel Baylis as their 
missionary, and commenced a regular service; 
and after a little over a year, a church was 
formed, commencing, in the month of May, 1854, 
with thirty members. 

Since that time, there have been constant ac¬ 
cessions, amounting, in all, to one hundred and 
twenty, only twelve of whom have been by letter. 
Many of them were Roman Catholics. Most of 
these, if not all, have been brought in through 
the Sabbath school. Two adult Bible classes, 
male and female, have been maintained from the 
beginning, in which there have been many con¬ 
versions. A prayer-meeting has been maintained 
on Sabbath afternoon, a peculiar feature of which 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


Ill 


is, the allotment of ten minutes, in the middle 
of the services, for personal conversation. “ The 
moment the opportunity is given, every Christian 
professor is expected to speak to some one or 
more impenitent persons in the room, on the 
subject of personal religion. If there are not 
impenitent persons enough to engage every pro¬ 
fessor, they hold Christian fellowship with one 
another. The power of personal conversation, 
with the divine blessing, has here been demon¬ 
strated. Among many other instances, a woman 
nearly fifty years of age, who was found before 
the committee for examination, volunteered the 
testimony that she had lived twenty or thirty 
years in several Christian families in Philadel¬ 
phia, Buffalo and Brooklyn, but was never spoken 
to on this subject personally, or waked up to a 
sense of her danger, until, in the interval for 
conversation in this meeting, she was exhorted 
by a member of this church to submit to the terms 
of salvation, which she hoped she had now done.” 

The pastor of the Warren Street Mission Church, 
Rev. S. Baylis, has, at my request, furnished me 
with the following statement: 


112 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


“ I commenced missionary labor, in connection 
with this Sabbath school, five years ago. I have 
held two services on the Sabbath, and sometimes 
three. I think I can safely say that not less than 
six or eight hundred different persons have heard 
the Gospel in our place of worship every year. 
I do not suppose that more than one out of ten 
of them would ever have attended even once, 
had they not been visited personally at their 
dwellings. 

“ Our mission church has been organized four 
years. We have received one hundred and 
twenty members, all but twelve of them by pro¬ 
fession. I do not now remember more than 
three of the one hundred and eight, who ever 
visited our place of worship once, until they 
had been visited and urged to attend. Some 
of the most active members and officers of our 
church were visited many, many times, before 
they could be persuaded to come even once. 

“Many have been reached through the chil¬ 
dren of the Sabbath school, or by the influence 
of companions in our adult classes. One fact 
will serve as an example of many others. One 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


113 


girl, about sixteen years of age, was induced by 
another girl who worked with her, to attend 
an adult class. She soon became personally in¬ 
terested in the Saviour, and united with the 
church. Through her influence, I gained access 
to the family. Her mother was a widow with 
six children, a widowed sister residing with her. 
They were not accustomed to attend any place 
of worship. They were induced to attend ours, 
with a brother of theirs and his . family. The 
brother was not only a neglecter of religion, but 
a scoffer. In about three months from the time 
the daughter united with the church, her mother, 
aunt, and uncle all applied for admission, and 
were received together into the church. Since 
that time the uncle’s wife, two sisters of the girl 
first named, and a young man who boarded in 
the family, have united with the church, making 
eight persons who have been reached, and we 
hope saved, through this one person. To God 
be all the glory.” 

9. In 1847, some members of the Pierrepont 
Street Baptist Church established a mission school 
in South Brooklyn, which has since grown into the 
10 * 


114 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


Strong Place Baptist Church, now one of the 
strongest churches in Brooklyn of that denomi¬ 
nation; and that church now supports a mission 
school and a mission church. 

10. German Evangelical. —This was established 
in 1848, in the basement of the German church on 
Schermerhorn Street. It was at first opposed by 
that church, and the trustees ordered it out of the 
house. But its conductors refused to go; and 
after a little while, the people began to see its 
good fruits, and not only consented that it should 
remain, but gave it their countenance and appro¬ 
bation. It now numbers over two hundred. 
This school is composed of Germans, a class for 
whose spiritual benefit there is great encourage¬ 
ment to labor. They have good intellects, show 
a ready improvement, and when they receive the 
truth, it takes a deep and strong hold. The Cath¬ 
olic Germans are less bigoted than almost any 
other adherents of Rome. But the great difficulty 
in the way of doing them good, is, their loose 
views concerning the sanctity of the Sabbath. 

11. East Brooklyn Mission. — In the summer 
of 1851, the writer, then residing in Bedford Ave- 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


115 


Hue, being pained to see so many children running 
in the streets on the Sabbath, looked round for 
some place to open a new school, but for a long 
time could find none. Towards autumn, he suc¬ 
ceeded in engaging a small room in a private 
house; but when he went there at the time 
aj)pointed, there was a sick child in the house, 
and the school could not be held. Seeing a group 
of girls standing near, who had come to the school, 
he invited them to his house, and, after showing 
them the way, went out again, to reconnoitre for 
more. Seeing a company of boys in the loft of an 
unfinished building, at play, he accosted them and 
invited them to go to the Sabbath school. “ Come 
up here,” said one of them in a mischievous tone, 
“ and let’s have a game.” After considerable per¬ 
suasion, one of them, pointing to his comrade, said, 
“ I ’ll go, if he will; ” and the other replied, “ I ’ll 
go, if he will.” And after some further parley, the 
whole company started off in procession. The room 
was full, and it was as much as we could do to 
take care of them. The most of them were as wild 
as colts, and many of them acted as if they had 
never seen a school of any kind before. The 


116 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


second Sabbath a gentleman came in to assist us. 
Soon, our room proving insufficient, we removed 
into a building occupied by a private school. The 
school was kept up with a good degree of interest 
through the winter, and a number of teachers came 
in to assist. In the spring the school was com¬ 
mitted to the charge of an excellent superintendent, 
who has maintained it ever since with vigor and 
success. They have collected seven hundred dol¬ 
lars and purchased two lots, with the view of 
building at a convenient time. 

This school has been blessed the past winter, 
and a number of its scholars have united with the 
church. One of them, a young man, on his exam¬ 
ination, attributed his awakening to the Sabbath 
school. The pastor inquired how he was led to 
enter the Sabbath school; to which he replied, 
“You,sir,brought me in.” The writer remembers 
well the circumstance, when the pastor brought 
into the school two boys whom he had found in 
the street, between his services, and persuaded 
them to come to the school. This young man 
was one of them. “In due time ye shall reap 
if ye faint not.” 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


117 


12. Hope Mission. — Hot long after the last 
named effort was commenced, a retired clergyman, 
living in East Brooklyn, understanding what had 
been done, determined to attempt a similar enter¬ 
prise. He went into a neighborhood called “Jack- 
son Hollow ,” a portion of the city which was 
neither graded nor paved, in which was a village 
of shanties, mostly inhabited by Irish families. 
He obtained the privilege of occupying one of 
the shanties for a school-room, in which a family 
resided; and here, without benches or chairs, and 
with no assistance but that of his daughter, he 
kept up a school, composed of the rudest materials, 
yet capable of improvement. But when the warm 
weather came on, the quarters were too uncom¬ 
fortable to continue the school, and it was sus¬ 
pended. But the interest created by this effort 
led to a movement for erecting a building, which 
resulted in a neat and commodious school-room, 
at a cost of two thousand dollars, all paid for; and 
the school continued in a flourishing condition, 
until recently, the house was burned. 

13. Mount Prospect Mission. — In the follow¬ 
ing spring, the writer went, in company with the 


118 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


superintendent of the school in Clinton Avenue 
Church, Silas Davenport, Esq., to survey the sur¬ 
rounding desolations. We found a settlement 
south of Long Island Rail Road, on “Prospect 
Hill,” and about half a mile from the Clinton 
Avenue Church, containing a population of four 
or five hundred families, very few of whom were 
connected with any church. It was believed that 
there were not more than fifteen or twenty chil¬ 
dren in the whole settlement, who attended any 
Sabbath school. We spent several half days in 
canvassing the neighborhood for a place to open 
a school, but could find none, not even a single 
small room, all the tenements being occupied. 
Not being willing, however, to give it up, I took 
a bundle of children’s tracts, between the services, 
one Sabbath, and, arriving on the ground, began 
to distribute them. Soon I had gathered around 
me an eager crowd. Having exhausted my stock 
of books, I inquired if they would like to have 
a Sabbath school? They all said “yes,” and 
“we’ll all come.” I then pointed to a vacant 
corner, where there was some shade, and told 
them if they would come there at six o’clock in 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


119 


the afternoon we would have a Sabbath school. 
I then went to the church and found the super¬ 
intendent just dismissing the school. I told him 
what I had done, and he invited the teachers to 
accompany us. After service, we repaired to the 
spot, and commenced singing. Soon we had 
about one hundred gathered around us, of all ages 
and of both sexes. With the exception, however, 
of one or two young men who had been drinking, 
they behaved well. We sung and prayed, and 
had several addresses; after which, we notified 
them to meet there again the next Sabbath. 
During the week, we found a garret, in a small 
building, which we could have, and after opening 
the school in the open air, we repaired to it; but 
it was crowded to overflowing, without seats; and 
all we could do was, to sing, speak a few words 
to them, and distribute some little books. The 
next week, we found a couple of lots, on which 
was a milk barn, twenty-four by forty, which we 
could j^urchase for ten hundred and fifty dollars. 
We ventured to contract for it, though we had no 
means to pay. The next Saturday, we cast out the 
rubbish from the barn-floor with our own hands, 


120 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


and laid down some rough boards for seats. The 
following day, as the children began to assemble, 
w T e led a horse out of the stable, and tied him in the 
yard; and we could not help thinking that it was 
an honorable place for a Sabbath school to be born. 
We had about one hundred here, and made some 
progress in classing them. We subsequently col¬ 
lected money enough to fit up the building, and 
make a good school-room or chapel. A society 
was organized under the general law, to hold the 
property, and what could not be raised was left 
on a mortgage. The superintendent of the school 
in the Clinton Avenue Congregational Church, 
resigned his office there, and accepted the superin¬ 
tendency of the new school. The neighborhood 
was divided into districts and a thorough system 
of visitation put in operation. At first we secured 
the attendance of many Catholics; but they have 
since built a church of their own in the vicinity, 
and established a school, and have drawn nearly 
all of their children away. The school still 
maintains a vigorous existence. It receives its 
principal support from the Clinton Avenue Con¬ 
gregational Church; but it has several times 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


121 


changed superintendents. The neighborhood has 
been much improved by the school. During the 
year past, this school has been much blessed. 
Some months ago, several female scholars asked 
for the key of the school-room on a week-day 
afternoon, and were seen to enter and remain 
two or three hours. Some one asked them what 
they had been doing so long there; and they 
replied that they had been praying. “ What have 
you been praying for?” “We have prayed for 
you, and for each other, and for the school, and 
for the people in this neighborhood.” 

The first superintendent of this school, and 
a gentleman who assisted me in my first school, 
having removed to Elizabeth City, N. J., have suc¬ 
ceeded in forming a Sabbath School Union, and 
establishing mission schools in that city. 

15. Smith Street Mission. — This is in South 
Brooklyn, and is the one alluded to as having 
been established by the South Presbyterian 
Church. It was commenced in 1852. This school 
is under the care of the church, having been either 
established or adopted by the session, and a col¬ 
lection is taken up annually in the church to defray 
11 


122 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


the expenses of this and the church school. An 
association of young men connected with this 
church have, for several years, supported a student 
of the Union Theological Seminary, as a mission¬ 
ary for this school, for the double purpose of gath¬ 
ering children into the school, and of aiding the 
young man in his education. This measure has 
proved an efficient means of sustaining the school, 
and of carrying the gospel to those who do not 
hear it in our churches. During the past winter, a 
children’s meeting has been maintained on a week¬ 
day evening, and attended with much interest; 
and the blessing of God has been realized in the 
school. 

16. Strong Place Baptist Mission. — This 
school was established by the Strong Place Bap¬ 
tist Church, (South Brooklyn,) near Hamilton 
Ferry, the same year as the two last named. It 
now numbers about one hundred and fifty scholars. 
It has been greatly blessed, and numbers have 
been gathered into the church from its classes. 

17. Myrtle Avenue Mission. — In the spring 
of 1853, we surveyed a field in the central part of 
the city, north of Myrtle Avenue, but found great 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


123 


difficulty in procuring a room. At length a hall 
was obtained on Myrtle Avenue, a number of 
blocks distant from the field we designed to reach; 
and with the aid of the missionary employed by 
the young men of the South Presbyterian Church, 
we opened a school on the 4th of July, with eight 
or nine scholars. It being so great a distance 
from the churches, we found much difficulty in 
procuring teachers; and without a supply of teach¬ 
ers we could not keep our scholars. We labored 
hard through the month of July to bring the school 
up to thirty; and in August, it declined. We 
met with great discouragement, for want of teach¬ 
ers, and the school ran down to about the same 
number as at the commencement. About this 
time, the young men of the First Presbyterian 
Church formed an association similar to that in 
the South Presbyterian Church, for the support of 
a student, with the understanding that he was to 
visit for this school. But still the old difficulty 
remained — the want of teachers. An urgent ap¬ 
peal was now made at the Union Concert of 
Prayer, and to the Young Men’s Christian Asso¬ 
ciation, for teachers. These appeals had the effect 


124 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


to bring a large number of teachers to the school 
the next Sabbath; but we were in great perplex¬ 
ity, lest, seeing a beggarly set of empty seats, they 
should go back and report that, after all our ado, 
there was nothing for them to do. Our visitor 
felt the difficulty, and went out into the streets 
and lanes and almost literally “ compelled ” them 
to come in. The room was full — the difficulty 
was over; and from that day, the enterprise went 
forward. By the middle of winter, it became ne¬ 
cessary to hire an additional room. 

This school afterwards passed into the hands of 
the Reformed Dutch Church on the Heights, (Rev. 
Dr. Bethune’s,) and was adopted by their consist¬ 
ory. The place became too strait, and another 
hall was taken nearer the locality first intended to 
be reached, at a much.higher rent, and fitted up at 
considerable expense, with a large ante-room for 
an infant class; the whole being sufficient to ac¬ 
commodate three or four hundred. The attend¬ 
ance soon ran up to two hundred; and it contin¬ 
ues in a flourishing condition. The success of this 
enterprise shows what may be done by persever¬ 
ing efforts, against wind and tide. 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


125 


18. Lee Avenue Sabbatii School. —“The Lee 
Avenue Sabbath School was organized in May 
1853, in a small cottage located in a lane near 
where the present chapel (Lee Avenue, comer of 
Hewes Street) stands. There were no houses in 
the vicinity. For a great distance on every side, 
open fields, cultivated by market gardeners, met 
the eye. Nor has the general appearance (except¬ 
ing a number of paved streets and a few new 
dwellings) even to the present time, been much 
changed. The most of the children live from half 
a mile to a mile and a half away from the chapel, 
and some even farther. The commencement was 
a feeble one, consisting of three teachers and eight 
scholars. The whole enterprise grew slowly for 
the first two years, numbering only about twenty 
teachers and eighty scholars. From that time the 
growth has been very rapid; the whole number 
now on the register is about fourteen hundred 
scholars and one hundred and forty teachers, with 
an average attendance of about one thousand. A 
very flourishing Reformed Dutch Church, under 
the pastoral care of the Rev. W. W. Halloway, has 
grown out of this Sabbath school, and although 
11 * 


126 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


the chapel is very large and commodious, it is 
usually, on the Sabbath, crowded to its utmost 
capacity. 

“The children are very much attached to the 
school, like to come, and do come in all weathers. 
The success of the school may be attributed to the 
system by which everything is carried on; the 
order maintained; the plan of systematic visita¬ 
tion pursued by the teachers; the correctness 
with which the Record and all books appertaining 
to the school are kept. 

“ The Hymn Book used is a collection published 
for and under the auspices of the school, to which 
lively and soul-stirring music is set. The boys 
hold meetings during the week; and the Sunday 
school prayer meetings, on Sabbath evenings, are 
usually attended by one thousand persons. 

“ A thorough canvass of the neighborhood sur¬ 
rounding the school for the distance of from half 
to three-quarters of a mile, is always in operation 
by the teachers. There are thoroughly organized 
primary and infant departments ; making no- dis¬ 
tinction between the children who do and those 
who do not belong to the congregation; drawing 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


127 


no line between the children of affluence and of 
those in more humble circumstances, but classify¬ 
ing them according to their abilities; not their 
circumstances in life; believing that “ worth,” not 
wealth, makes the man. 

“The Sabbath School Benevolent Society sup¬ 
plies its members with religious publications, 
procures homes for the friendless, provides for 
the wants of the needy, and assists in burying the 
dead of the school and society.” 

For several years, conversions have been fre¬ 
quently occurring in this school, and during the 
past winter it has shared largely in the general 
refreshing. They say in their annual report: 
“ There has been no time the year past, that 
we have not enjoyed, to a greater or less de¬ 
gree, the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit. Many 
have been awakened, convinced, and converted. 
At every communion season some from the Sab¬ 
bath school have been added to the church. We 
are now sharing with our sister churches in the 
great religious awakening. Our meetings on the 
Sabbath and during the week are crowded, and 
scores are rejoicing in hope.” 


128 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


But, under God, the efficiency and wonderful 
success of this school has been chiefly owing to 
the indefatigable efforts of its superintendent, 
Jeremiah Johnson, Esq., a wealthy gentleman, 
who has concentrated upon this school, money, 
talent, and time sufficient to ensure success in 
any business enterprise. And the result shows 
what may be done by one wealthy man, who 
will consecrate his energies and his means to 
any department of benevolent effort for the ad¬ 
vancement of Christ’s kingdom. 

19. Nelson Street Mission. — Near the Penny 
Bridge, on the way to Greenwood, is a large set¬ 
tlement of foreigners and others, which has re¬ 
ceived the soubriquet of Texas. A mission school 
was commenced in this neighborhood in 1853. A 
young man walked two miles on the Sabbath, to 
attend this school, and spent his money freely 
upon it. It being far from any church, it was 
difficult to obtain teachers. A preaching service 
was, for awhile, sustained in connection with it. 
In the summer of 1854, it was for a time broken 
uj) by the cholera. It was subsequently resumed 
in a more healthy location. It has been several 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


129 


times removed, but' bas at length settled down 
permanently, in a building fitted up by the Indus¬ 
trial School Society, in Nelson Street, opposite the 
Catholic Church near the railroad bridge, on the 
way to Greenwood.^ * 

20. Montague Ferry Mission. — In 1854, a 
school was opened in Montague Ferry House, 
which provides for a population living on Fur¬ 
man Street, below the Heights, mostly employed 
about the docks. The use of the room is given 
by the Ferry company. 

Up to this time, there was no organized sys¬ 
tematic effort to establish and sustain mission 
schools. It was the spontaneous effort of indi¬ 
viduals. There was, however, a growing interest 
in this subject, from year to year, especially with 
reference to its bearing upon the evangelization 
of our emigrant population. A Sunday School 
Union had existed for years; but it contemplated 
little more than a bond of union among the 
schools, and made no aggressive movements. 
But for a year or two, it had been deeply felt 
that something more was needed. Early in the 


130 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


year 1855, this organization was given up, and a 
new one formed, with special reference to the mis¬ 
sionary work. It consists of a board of twenty- 
five managers, chosen annually by the body of 
the teachers, representing all* evangelical denom¬ 
inations. This board has a missionary commit¬ 
tee of twelve members, one for each ward, a 
committee on public meetings, and a committee 
of ways and means. 

Before the new Board had come into working 
order, and before it possessed sufficient funds to 
do much, an effort was made to increase the 
number of schools; and to remove the chief dif¬ 
ficulty, an individual undertook to be responsi¬ 
ble for the rent of rooms. 

21. John Street Mission. — Attention was 
first directed to that moral desolation, the Fifth 
Ward. After searching in vain several days for 
a suitable room, an unfinished one was found over 
a cooper’s shop, in John Street, near Bridge Street 
Ferry; and on four sides of the square in which the 
building is situated, it was ascertained that there 
were about four hundred families. This room could 
be had in its rough state at a rent of one hundred 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


131 


and fifty dollars. We laid the matter before a 
gentleman belonging to the Pierrepont Street 
Baptist Church, a well known friend of Sabbath 
schools, who took a lease of the building, fitted it 
up at an expense of two hundred and twenty-five 
dollars, and undertook to defray all the expenses 
of the school. When the room was ready, he took 
about twenty members of his church to the place 
on Sabbath morning, and after organizing, and 
electing officers, they went out two and two and 
canvassed the square in which they were situated, 
and one side of another, and in the afternoon, they 
had eighty-nine scholars, but as rude as the “ wild 
boar of the wood.” This school has encountered 
no little difficulty from its distance from the resi¬ 
dence of the teachers; but it still flourishes. 

22. Boerum Street. — Soon after this, a lodge- 
room was hired in Boerum street, not far from the 
City Hall, at a rent of one hundred and fifty dol¬ 
lars ; and as it was already fitted up, the school 
commenced before the last named. This school 
has been sustained chiefly by members of the First 
Presbyterian Church in Henry Street. 

23. Border Mission. —A room was found in 


132 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


Atlantic Street, adjoining the district occupied by 
Mount Prospect School, and negotiations were en¬ 
tered into with several parties to take possession 
of it, but without effect. At length, a gentleman 
who had been connected with the old Prince 
Street School undertook the enterprise. He took 
fifteen or twenty persons from the Central Pres¬ 
byterian Church, mostly young converts, and after 
organizing, went out with them to visit the neigh¬ 
borhood. The result was, that, although their 
field was somewhat limited, they had, in the af¬ 
ternoon, thirty-nine scholars. They soon took 
the form and appearance of a well ordered school, 
and have since maintained a vigorous existence. 
The neighborhood has been much improved since 
the formation of the school. 

24. Betiiesda. —Hear the South Ferry, and north 
of Atlantic street, within the compass of four 
squares, is a population of about one thousand fam¬ 
ilies, mostly foreigners. In one block of ten houses, 
there are one hundred families. In another block of 
two houses, there are forty families. This is the way 
the people live. This has long been considered 
the hardest neighborhood in the city. We were 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


133 


anxious to make the experiment of establishing 
a school there. But we could find no suitable 
jdace. Every block was canvassed, and no room 
could be found of suitable size. With great re¬ 
luctance, the project was given up. At length, 
a rear building was discovered, which had once 
been used as a ten-pin alley, now made into 
tenant houses, the upper story of which we rented 
for one hundred and fifty dollars, and twenty-five 
dollars more for a passage way. We caused the 
partitions to be removed, at an expense of one 
hundred dollars, and the seating and other ex¬ 
penses amounted to one hundred and forty dol¬ 
lars more. This gave us a room twenty-two 
feet by sixty-two, with an ante-room for an in¬ 
fant class. When the room was ready, we ap- 
plied to a gentleman belonging to Rev. Dr. Be- 
thune’s church, to take charge of it, who brought 
with him about twenty members of that church, 
some of whom visited the neighborhood the latter 
part of the week and on Sabbath morning; and 
they opened in the afternoon wdth one hundred 
scholars. But a vigorous and determined warfare 
was waged upon the school by the Catholic priest 
12 


134 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


and those under his influence, and in the course 
of the summer, it suffered considerable diminution. 
Since that time it has encountered great opposi¬ 
tion and annoyance; but it has been removed 
to a more commodious room in Atlantic Street, 
and is now in a flourishing condition. One in¬ 
cident connected with it will serve as a sample 
of its influence. The day the school was opened, 
a young girl was in attendance, clad in filthy rags, 
and appearing in a most squalid condition. She 
continued to attend, and to manifest indications 
of improvement. After some time, it was as¬ 
certained that she was greatly neglected and 
abused in the family where she resided. She 
told her teacher that the man she lived with 
sometimes called himself her father, and some¬ 
times told her that he had taken her from the 
almshouse. She did not know whether he was 
her father or not. But the woman (his second 
wife) was in the habit of beating and abusing 
her. She said when she first came to the school, 
she did not know there was a God. She had 
never heard his name mentioned, excej)t with a 
profane oath. She had never heard of a church 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


135 


or a Sabbath school. She knew nothing of the 
story of the cross. She learned these things rap¬ 
idly, and seemed to show a love of the truth, in¬ 
dicative of piety. She has since been taken away 
from the brutal family with whom she lived, and 
placed where she will be cared for. This case 
shows what heathenism there is among us, and 
how well the mission school is adapted to find 
out and correct it. 

25. Vanderbilt Avenue Mission. —This is sit¬ 
uated in Vanderbilt Avenue, between Flushing 
and Park Avenues. An application was made 
early in the spring of 1855, for the public school- 
house in this district, with the hope of opening 
the school-house for Sabbath schools. But our 
board of education, in their wisdom, twice denied 
the application, from fear that somehow or other 
the walls of the school-room might be tainted 
with sectarianism by the opening of a union 
school, in which nine different denominations are 
represented. In July, leave was obtained to oc¬ 
cupy, temporarily, an old building in Adelphi 
Street, which had been used as an oil cloth fac¬ 
tory; and five hundred printed notices of the open- 


136 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


insr of the school were circulated in the neighbor¬ 
hood the latter part of the week. Sabbath after¬ 
noon there were sixty-five scholars; the second Sab¬ 
bath there were one hundred. The school contin¬ 
ued to prosper, until the weather growing cold, 

% 

and it being impossible to warm the place, it was 
found necessary to make some other provision. 
Those engaged in the enterprise were persons 
of slender means, but they succeeded in raising 
money to purchase a lot and build a house, which 
they comjdeted early in the season. The school 
has since continued in a prosperous condition, 
the blessing of God distilling upon it continually 
like the gentle dew. The first conversion was 
one of the boys that had been gathered into 
the school. This occurred about two years ago. 
Soon after his conversion, he invited several of 
his companions to meet with him under a shed 
for prayer. After some time, they removed to 
a basement room in a dwelling house. At length 
they asked and obtained leave to hold their meet¬ 
ing in the school-house. And it has been kept up 
ever since, increasing in numbers and interest; 
and at almost every communion in the Reformed 


MISSION SCHOOLS IN BROOKLYN. 


137 


Dutch Church to which the superintendent be¬ 
longs, young persons from this school have been 
received into the church. 

26. Wythe Avenue. —In August, 1855, a mem¬ 
ber of the missionary committee went over to the 
north part of Brooklyn, near Williamsburgh, to a 
needy settlement, and found a room that could 
be had for a school. It being too distant to be 
reached by any of the churches in Brooklyn, he 
stated the case to the pastor of the First Pres¬ 
byterian church, in Williamsburgh, and asked him 
if he could furnish us with a superintendent. He 
replied that it was just the thing they had been 
talking about, and that they could not only fur¬ 
nish a superintendent, but teachers also. It was 
just the kind of work in which he wished to 
engage his people. The school was commenced 
in September; and it has been in successful op¬ 
eration ever since. The pastor of the church told 
me a year or more after it was commenced that 
the enterprise had exerted an excellent influence 
upon his church. Thus the walls of Jerusalem 
go up, when the “ people have a mind to work.” 

Since that time, the work has been going 
12 * 


138 HOW TO SUSTAIN MISSION SCHOOLS. 

steadily forward. Several new mission schools 
have been established, and the old ones have 
been strengthened and invigorated. And, ac¬ 
cording to our statistical returns, we have had, in 
the three years past, an increase of about Jive 
thousand in the attendance upon our schools. 

These schools are generally conducted on the 
Union principle, embracing teachers of different 
denominations, and avoiding what is distinctly 
sectarian. But in most cases it is found that 
teachers work better together to come mostly 
from one church, where it is practicable; and it 
has the further advantage of enlisting the sym¬ 
pathy and securing the support of the church to 
which its teachers belong. 

The facts that I have stated prove the practica¬ 
bility of this work, wherever there is material for 
it. I think I may safely affirm, that wherever 
these three things can be found, a mission Sab¬ 
bath school can be established and sustained, viz. 
first, a population who need it; second, a suitable 
room; and third, the right kind of a man to super¬ 
intend it. The latter must be a man who is willing 
to become personally responsible for its existence, 


A MISSION SCHOOL AN INSTITUTION. 139 


and to be the life and soul of it. He must be, in fact, 
in the good sense of the term, a driver. But with 
this he must unite a genial nature, and the capa¬ 
city to attach others to himself. Such a man will 
find no great difficulty in gathering around him 
a band of kindred spirits for teachers, or of reach¬ 
ing the pockets of his friends when he wants 
money. 

Experience confirms the fact that a mission 
school, once well established, becomes an institu¬ 
tion. If in a locality where a church can be 
gathered, it will in due time ripen into a church. 
If not, it will become self-sustaining by the local 
interest it will create among the teachers, their 
Christian frieilds, and the people for whose bene¬ 
fit it is designed. 

There is one other point clearly established by 
these facts, that where a school or schools are 
needed, it is not necessary to wait for an organi¬ 
zation before proceeding to establish them. If 
any person has it in his heart to establish a Sab¬ 
bath school, in any place where there are neg¬ 
lected children, he may safely go forward, and 
open it, trusting to the cooperation of his fellow 


140 


PERSONAL EFFORTS. 


Christians. But first he must have confidence 
in his own ability, under God, to sustain it after 
some sort, himself alone, if no one should lend a 
helping hand. I have seen the experiment tried 
so often with success that I can speak confidently 
of its safety. Take an instance or two, encourag¬ 
ing especially to the young: 

In 1825 I was residing (a young man and a com¬ 
parative stranger) in Black Rock, near Buffalo, in 
New York. This was before the question was de¬ 
cided whether the Erie Canal was to terminate at 
Black Rock or Buffalo, or which of these places 
was to be the port of Lake Erie. There was a 
considerable population, but so much uncertainty 
being over the future, no permanent institutions of 
society were thought of. There was an old dis¬ 
trict school-house, where a Methodist circuit 
preacher officiated once in two or three weeks, 
and the alternate weeks the Presbyterian or Epis¬ 
copal ministers of Buffalo held a third service. 
But there was no Sabbath school. I noticed the 
children spending their Sabbaths in the streets, 
with none to care for their instruction. I thought 
they might be benefited by being gathered into 


THE WAY TO COMMENCE. 


141 


a school on the Sabbath. But I knew it would 
be hazardous to consult any one, lest objections 
should be made. I counted the cost, and con¬ 
cluded that, as I had some experience in teaching, 
I could teach a school on the Sabbath myself in 
case I could get no assistance. I therefore went 
all over the village one Sabbath morning, and noti¬ 
fied all the children that I met, that there would be 
a Sabbath school at the school-house the next Sab¬ 
bath morning, at nine o’clock. In the afternoon, 
there was preaching. I wrote a notice of the 
school, in which I requested any persons will¬ 
ing to become teachers to remain after service. 
This notice I handed to the preacher (who was a 
brother of Ex-President Fillmore), and he was so 
well pleased with the idea that he changed his 
text, and preached a stirring Sabbath school ser¬ 
mon, and a large number of persons remained, to 
signify their readiness to engage as teachers. The 
following Sabbath a school was opened with eighty 
scholars. One of the leading men of the place, 
(not a professor of religion), circulated a subscrip¬ 
tion and obtained over thirty dollars for a library. 
A Sabbath school society was formed, and the 


142 


OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 


school went on prosperously. Three years after¬ 
wards I visited it, and found it still in successful 
operation. 

Some years ago, a young lady of my acquaintance 
went from the East to the state of Missouri, and 
engaged in teaching. She had a school of young 
ladies in a village that was destitute of regular 
preaching, and where there were few, if any, pro¬ 
fessors of religion. She told her scholars one Sat¬ 
urday, that if they would come to the school-room 
on the Sabbath, she would teach them the Bible. 
The next day, to her astonishment, she found not 
only her own scholars, but many other children, 
and a number of the parents — some of them men 
— but none among them could open the school 
with prayer. But the Bible was opened before 
them, and in a few weeks the Lord poured out his 
Spirit, and twenty-five or thirty of them were 
brought to the knowledge of the truth. 

We frequently meet the objection, when speak¬ 
ing of opening a school in a given locality, “ Oh, 
they are all Catholics — you can do nothing with 
them.” Our invariable answer is, “So much the 
more need of a school.” We have no more right 


CATHOLICS IN SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 


143 


to give up these people as hopeless, and make no 
effort for their salvation, than we have to give up 
the no less bigoted Hindoo, Mohammedan, or Ar¬ 
menian, and refuse to send the gospel to them. 
The Catholics are no more wedded to their super¬ 
stitions than the heathen, to whom we send mis¬ 
sionaries across the broad ocean, to speak to them 
in a language not their own. But the Catholics 
are among us, and they speak our language, and 
partake in some degree of the spirit of our institu¬ 
tions. “But do you get them into your schools?” 
This is a more important inquiry; yet we are able 
to answer: In some measure we do. I was in one 
of our mission schools, where there were about one 
hundred and fifty scholars; and I inquired of the 
visitor how many of them were Catholics. To 
which he replied that he did not know; but that, 
one day, he had counted fifty that he knew were 
Catholics. However, the priests are very vigilant, 
and the “ Christian brothers ” have established 
both day and Sabbath schools, and the people are 
commanded to send to them. The movement 
against foreigners has also operated against us. 
Still, we retain many of them in our schools. The 


144 


FOREIGNERS ACCESSIBLE. 


children, to a great extent, would be glad to attend. 
And the despotism of the church is losing its hold 
upon many of the parents, who see that their chil¬ 
dren are not injured, but made better by our in¬ 
structions. The Germans, in particular, are both 
accessible and impressible. We firmly believe that 
the day is coming when this superstition shall lose 
its power; and we are bound to employ against it, 
at every point, the aggressive force of practical 
Christianity. 

But, it should be said, to the credit of the Cath¬ 
olics, that they are more attentive to the outward 
forms of their religion than the majority of nomi¬ 
nal Protestants; and I believe it is a fact that a 
much larger proportion of their population, than 
that of Protestant foreigners, are in the habit of 
attending church, and of sending their children to 
their own Sabbath schools. And, although so far 
buried up and perverted by the “ traditions of the 
elders,” as, in a great measure to lose its practical 
force, they still retain underneath all this rubbish 
the “form of sound words.” And, if we expect 
to do them good, we must avoid every course of 
action that would lead them to think that we wish 


THE MISSIONARY AND THE IRISHMAN. 145 


to use any unfair means to proselyte them or their 
children to the Protestant faith. We must treat 
them courteously, and allow them the same rights 
of conscience which we claim for ourselves. And 
when we secure their confidence, they will listen 
to candid and fair arguments. We must allow 
them the same liberty of attempting to convert us, 
which we claim for ourselves in regard to them. 
As a good specimen of what I mean, I cannot for¬ 
bear relating a conversation which recently took 
place between one of our city missionaries and an in¬ 
telligent Catholic Irishman. The missionary called 
at a house where the Irishman was doing a piece 
of ornamental painting. The lady seemed much 
interested in the man, and requested the missionary 
to speak to him. So he went into the apartment 
where the man was at work, accosted him in a 
friendly manner, and began to admire his work. 
“ It is wonderful how such effects can be produced. 
You see, that it is not in the pot , it is not in the 
paint , it is not in the brush; but it is in you.” 
“And, indade it is,” replied the man, “ and I have 
studied and worked hard to get it.” “ Well,” said 
the missionary, “there is more in that than you 
13 


146 


SYSTEMATIC VISITATION. 


think.” “ Why, indade, sir, an’ what is it ? ” 
“You are ti catholic, I take it.” “Troth I am.” 
“Well, we Protestants think that religion is not 
in the pope, nor in the bishop , nor in the priest , 
but in the ma.” “An 'fath, it’s true; an’ I’m 
not more nor half a catholic.” That was enough 
for one lesson. The mining process was fairly 
commenced with that man; and it will not be 
likely to stop there. 

SYSTEMATIC VISITATION. 

Some attempt was made the year before last, to 
introduce the systematic visitation; and a number 
of churches entered into it with spirit. But noth¬ 
ing was done towards securing a complete district¬ 
ing of the city. But early in the year just past 
the city was divided into between fifty and sixty 
districts; and the greater part of the churches 
have accepted their districts; and many of them 
have entered into the work most heartily. Where- 
ever the visiting has been thoroughly and contin¬ 
uously done, the results have been cheering. The 
effect is evidently seen in the unprecedented in¬ 
crease of an aggregate of three thousand scholars 


COURTEOUSNESS ESSENTIAL. 


147 


in our schools the past year. And if this system 
can be kept in thorough working order throughout 
the year, we shall have no people to whom the Gos¬ 
pel will not be regularly carried, and few children 
who do not attend the Sabbath school. But, in 
order to secure this, it must be taken up by the 
churches, under the supervision of the pastors, and 
carried forward as a part of their appropriate and 
necessary work. Nor is it necessary only in the 
districts inhabited by the poor. There are people 
on Brooklyn Heights and in Fifth Avenue — in all 
the more wealthy portions of our cities, who live 
in the habitual neglect of all religion, and of whom 
it may be said emphatically, “No man careth for 
their souls.” Yet, they are not inaccessible. And 
instances are not wanting where a kind and cour¬ 
teous religious visit to such families has been well 
received, and productive of the happiest results. 
Some of the most interesting cases of conversion 
that have occurred during the present revival, 
have been persons that were brought into the 
house of God by such visits. 


148 


CHRISTIAN ACTIVITY. 


A CHURCH ORGANIZED FOR LABOR. 

The following extract from the farewell sermon 
of Rev. William Hogarth, to the First Presby¬ 
terian Church in Brooklyn, on “A Church organ¬ 
ized for Labor,” is so apposite to this subject, and 
so forcible, that I have procured it for insertion in 
these pages: 

“A church should be organized for labor .— 
A strong individuality hinders such organizations. 
There is apt, moreover, to be so jealous a sense of 
personal independence in the matter of Christian 
labor, that men elect their own places and prose¬ 
cute their own work without any regard to any 
organized mode of action. They resent a hint 
even on their duty to their own church. This 
fact wars with organized Christian activity. The 
power of a division of labor is understood in all 
the departments of trade and business. It adapts 
men to the things which they can best do, and 
furnishes the kind of labor in which they are most 
successful. It secures results most surely, and 
most rapidly. This fact you will always see veri¬ 
fied in periods of political excitement. ‘Organize 


/ 


UNITED EFFORT. 149 

and canvass ” is the watchword. This covers the 
whole ground. It is the very thing which the 
churches need. A local church is fairly expected 
to look after the religious interests which come 
within its sphere. It can reach China, or Africa 
only by prayer and the gift of means and men; 
but it can come, down on the surrounding com¬ 
munity with the force of Christian example,— 
with the word of earnest entreaty, and with the 
open hand of relief for the needy. But if this is 
left to the miscellaneous impulse of individuals, 
much of it will be undone. Much of it is undone. 
Each man suspects or hopes that some one is 
doing the needful labor. A few indeed accom¬ 
plish all they can in quiet methods, and on the 
ground of their personal inspection of their field. 
How many of the Christian men and women, 
filling the churches on these Heights, having sworn 
at these altars, to serve God, — Christians, too, of 
rare gifts and abundant resources, — how many of 
them have and occupy a field of Christian work? 
They do Christian things in an extemporaneous 
way, — but I speak of a plan and a place of labor 
for which they are responsible, and for which they 
13* 


150 


UNUSED TALENTS IN THE CHURCH. 


are held responsible by covenant with their 
brethren. How many such are there ? How 
many Christians are so organized, — are willing 
to be so organized — and covet it as the best way 
of gathering a ripe harvest? It is not impracti¬ 
cable to organize after this method, — dividing 
the field according to the number who are to 
engage in the work, and appointing each man to 
the place for which he is fitted. This would 
secure the two-fold result of occupying the ground, 
and of giving to each man something to do. You 
will bear with me when I add that this process 
will bring into play all the talents of a church. 
It is not often known how much of various talent 
there is in a church. Some revival of religion 
will stimulate anew the Christian love, will ener¬ 
gize the power of thought, — will intensify the 
whole life of a man, — and that man will strike 
out into some department of Christian activity 
with the strength of a “giant filled with new 
wine.” Men stand amazed at the scope of his at¬ 
tainments, at the versatility of his mind, — at the 
fitness of his plans, and his executive capacity. 
There are men of large ability in the marts of 


OBLIGATIONS OF CHRISTIANS. 


151 


exchange, of genial sympathy in the social circle, 
who are not known as active Christian men. And 
their names are on the chnrcli records. They 
have no gift, as they say, in the evangelical work. 
There is more latent and unused talent in the 
church than is actually employed. More men do 
little or nothing, than do much. Our young men 
are excused, or excuse themselves. Our men of 
business find apology in the pressure of their cares, 
and in the fatigue which business brings. Others, 
like Moses, think poorly of their gifts. It is a 
shame. Any gift, if thoroughly penetrated with 
Divine love, can be made available. Any style 
of talent, if devoted to God, He will use for the 
good of man, and for the glory of his name. And 
it is high time we took some lessons on this point 
from some other religious denominations. The 
power of the lay talent of our Presbyterian 
churches is not applied as systematically and 
effectually as it might be. It never will be so 
applied until there is some plan of organization 
which puts under contribution every age, and 
every style of man to be found in the church. 
The value of such labor will be understood, when 


152 


UNITED EFFORT NECESSARY. 


the system which develops it is perfected, and 
every member of the church is solemnly and 
personally charged with a definite work. It must 
be put upon his soul , without the chance of 
evasion. It must be put upon his heart with all 
the encouragement which he needs. It must be 
put into his hands with the tone of entreaty and 
with the remonstrance of Christian love. What 
a glory a church would be, in which no man was 
unemployed, — in which his work was allotted 
wisely to his care. I am sure the extemporaneous 
and individual, unorganized, mode has been suf¬ 
ficiently tried, and few men are satisfied with it. 
True, in such a plan, some men may be found 
weak, incompetent, or extravagant; but the peril 
from that quarter is not nearly so great as from 
that orderly stagnation whicli infects the church. 
The peril from excessive activity is not so danger¬ 
ous or hazardous as that which comes from life 
in a charnel house, where talents are buried. A 
ship is manageable when the wind fills her sails,— 
but in a dead calm she floats to and fro with the 
tide, regardless of the rudder. An organized 
church in the process of actual development has 


NEGLECT OF WORSHIP IN THE COUNTRY. 153 


power to control fanaticism. A church weakened, 
enervated by inactivity, has no such power, and is 
always the prey of fanaticism. So we read 
history.” 

The system of Christian visitation and mission 
Sabbath school effort, which we have recom¬ 
mended, if adopted and thoroughly carried out, 
will produce precisely the organized church action 
here insisted upon, in all our churches, of all 
denominations. It is equally adapted to churches 
of every name, and so flexible as to leave denom¬ 
inational action free and unrestricted. 

THE COUNTRY. 

We have seen that the neglect of public wor¬ 
ship, and the consequent heathenism are as great, 
at least, in the country as in the city, if not 
greater. And, it is no less important in the 
country than in the city, that the inquiry should 
come home to every Christian heart, “How can 
these masses be reached?” We believe, as a 
general thing, there is less attempt made to reach 
them than there is in the city. It is too common 
for professing Christians to say, at least in heart, 


154 


A WORLDLY SPIRIT. 


“ Am I my brother’s keeper ? ” They are content 
to provide the means of grace for themselves and 
their households, and to leave others to do the 
same. And too often the question is looked at 
rather as it affects the outward prosperity of a 
religious society, than as it concerns the souls of 
the j)eople to be reached. And, if a person is 
not likely to add to the strength of the society, 
it is considered as of no account whether he is 
brought in or not. I do not sujipose that such 
sentiments would, in many cases, be expressed, 
yet they doubtless often lurk within. And they 
are sometimes openly avowed. A minister was 
preaching in a country place, where there was 
a prosperous society, but not a full house; while 
around them was a large population living in 
the neglect of religion. He inquired of some 
of the leading men why they did not make an 
effort to get the people more generally to attend 
public worship. The reply was: “We don’t 
want them. We are well supported and harmoni¬ 
ous. These people mould do us no good ! ” It needs 
no argument to show that this was not Christ-like. 
It was selfish and worldly. Christ came to save 


Christ’s command. 


155 


sinners, to lift np the fallen and the lowly. And he 
did not seek out the most respectable people, to build 
up a rich or genteel society. But, wherever he 
found a soul, to that soul he preached the Gospel. 
And, in the commission which he left with his 
disciples, he did not direct them to go through 
the world, and select the best people they could 
find, to build up prosperous and harmonious socie¬ 
ties ; but to “ go into all the world and preach the 
Gospel to every creature .” The Christian people, 
therefore, in a rural township, are bound by their 
obligations to their Divine Master, to see that the 
Gospel is made known to every man, woman, and 
child in such township. 

And how is this to be done? It cannot be 
done effectually and generally by ministers alone. 
They may preach faithfully and acceptably the 
pure Gospel; yet people who have neither an 
appetite- for the Gospel nor the habit of attending 
upon it will not go to hear it. The Gospel must 
be carried to their own dwellings. This the 
minister cannot do alone with sufficient frequency 
to render it effectual. But the system of effort 
which has been explained, and which is beginning 


156 


SYSTEMATIC EFFORTS. 


to be inaugurated in our cities, is equally well 
adapted to the country. 

I. Let all the evangelical churches in a township 
or district of country unite, and divide the field 
between them. Or if all cannot be brought into 
the arrangement, let those who will, proceed with¬ 
out the rest. And if but one church will enter into 
it, let that church undertake the work alone. Let 
every church-member, w T ho is able and willing, take 
a certain number of families, and visit them regu¬ 
larly at least once a month, and converse and pray 
with them, seeking the spiritual good of every 
member of the household. And if any of the 
people do not attend public worship, or if any 
children do not attend the Sabbath school, let them 
be urged to do so. 

II. Let a Sabbath school be opened in every 
district school-house; or if that cannot be done, in 
some private house in every neighborhood. 

III. Let a religious meeting be held at every 
place where there is a Sabbath school, at least once 
every Sabbath. Let the ministers preach alter¬ 
nately in these places, as often as their health and 
engagements will permit. On the alternate days, let 


RESULTS. 


157 


the meetings be sustained by laymen. Let them 
read and expound the Bible, or discourse to the 
people on the great truths of religion, to the best 
of their ability. What they lack in learning and 
ability, let them make up in fervor and zeal. And 
they will find themselves growing in grace and in 
the knowledge of the Scriptures more rapidly than 
ever before. 

These things being done, they will see other 
results; in neighborhoods remote from the church, 
there will begin a gradual improvement in morals. 
The children will grow more respectful, and the 
rough, wild boys will begin to soften in their man¬ 
ners. The meetings will grow more still and 
solemn. There will be now and then a hopeful 
conversion. The Christian congregations will grad¬ 
ually increase. New faces will be seen there. 
There will be additions to the churches from those 
families which were regarded as hopeless. And 
thus the way will be gradually prepared for a gen¬ 
eral revival of religion, which will sweep over the 
town. 

Some years ago, in a country town, two Christian 
brethren were conversing together on the low state 
14 


158 


DIFFICULTIES. 


of religion, and one said to the other, “come, let 
us go to my house and pray together.” The other 
consented, and they spent two hours in prayer for 
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, till their own 
souls were thoroughly aroused, and the fire burned 
in their hearts. As they went out, one said to the 
other, “ How, what shall we do ? ” The other re¬ 
plied, “ Let us go into this next house, and talk 
and pray with the people.” They did so, and left 
them in tears. And in this manner they went on 
from house to house till the day was spent. From 
that day commenced a work of grace that spread 
through the town. 

There is one difficulty in the way of such a 
movement, which exists to a much greater extent 
in the country than in the city. The people know 
each other. They are familiar with the faults of 
church-members. And there are often old fossil¬ 
ized prejudices, that have come down as heir-looms , 
from father to son. And, in such cases, there is a 
disposition on the part of those who are urged to 
attend to religion, to say, u Physician, heal thyself.” 
And this no doubt operates to deter many from 
the thankless task of speaking to their impenitent 


DIFFICULTIES TO BE REMOVED. 


159 


neighbors. I know of but two ways to remove 
this difficulty; one is, to live so holy, circum¬ 
spect, and upright a life, as to give no occasion for 
such a retort; the other is, to seek the speedy 
settlement of all difficulties that stand between 
you and your impenitent neighbors. You owe 
this to yourself, to your neighbor, and to God. 
For while you live so as to give occasion for re¬ 
proach, or while you refuse to settle any difficulty, 
you can neither do any good to other souls, nor 
get any good to your own, nor advance the cause 
of Christ. 


CHAPTER V. 


HINTS TO CHRISTIANS ON PERSONAL EFFORT FOR 
THE CONVERSION OF SOULS. 

PREPARATION. 

The first requisite for this work is, a spiritual 
mind , that takes hold of unseen things, and views 
them as living realities. This brings eternity near, 
and leads to a right estimate of the comparative 
value of temporal and eternal things. The next 
thing is, to get a deep and moving sense of the dis¬ 
honor done to God , and the contempt cast upon his 
authority , by the impenitence and unbelief of men . 
They are subjects of his government, living at 
enmity with him, and in open rebellion against his 
authority. Think how a parent is dishonored by 
the disobedience of a child. Yet, earthly parents 
are weak and sinful creatures like their children. 
How much greater the dishonor cast upon the in¬ 
finitely holy God, by the disobedience of the crea¬ 
tures of his power. Enter into the feelings of 


SYMPATHY WITH CHRIST. 


161 


Christ, and holy men of old, who wept over the 
sins of the people. 

Endeavor also to view the condition of the im¬ 
penitent as it is represented in Scripture. Let it 
be deep and abiding. See them, in the full blaze 
of gospel light, rushing down to eternal death, 
and wearying the patience and forbearance of God, 
by persistently refusing to accept the salvation he 
has provided at an infinite expense. Remember 
the “hole of the pit whence you were digged,” 
and forget not that, but for the free, rich, sovereign 
grace of God, you would still be in the same con¬ 
dition. 

Enter into the feelings of Christ. Endeavor to 
know the “ fellowship of his sufferings.” Be with 
him in his fasting and temptation; his extreme 
poverty; his exhausting labors; his mountain re¬ 
treats for prayer, during the season devoted by the 
world to repose. See him everywhere meeting the 
opposition, malice, and scorn, of the very beings 
he came to save, yet weeping over their obstinacy 
and unbelief. Be with him in his agony in the 
garden; in the cruel lacerations of his body; in 
his racking pains upon the cross; but above all, in 
14 * 


162 


god’s love to sinners. 


the double anguish of his soul, while enduring the 
hidings of his Father’s face. Remember that it 
was his compassion for sinners, which led him to 
suffer all this. He saw the ichole of the ruin into 
which they are fallen. He knew the worth of the 
soul. He knew the unutterable horrors of “the 
worm that dieth not, and the fire that is not 
quenched.” Endeavor to feel as he felt. “Let 
this mind be in you, which was also in Christ.” 
“If so be that we suffer with him, that we may 
also be glorified together.” Get your heart deeply 
imbued with such sentiments and emotions as 
these, and you will not find it a difficult thing to 
speak to impenitent sinners, but the word of God 
will be in your heart, as a fire shut up in your 
bones. Jer. 20: 9. 

Think much of the love of God toward sinners . 
Do not think that he delights in the punishment 
of the wicked. He delights injustice; but he has 
“ no pleasure in the death of the wicked.” Their 
misery is the necessary and unavoidable conse¬ 
quence of sin. At an infinite expense, he has pro¬ 
vided a way of deliverance from sin and misery. 
“ God so loved the world, that he gave his only- 


god’s sovereignty. 


163 


begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him 
should not perish, but have everlasting life.” And 
this wonderful deliverance is freely offered to all: 
“ Whosoever will , let him take the water of life 
freely.” “Him that cometh to me, I will in no 
wise cast out.” And he declares with an oath, 
“As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in 
the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn 
from his way and live.” While you have fellow¬ 
ship with God, in love for the souls of men, let 
their conversion be an object of deep, heartfelt, 
intense desire. 

See that you do not entertain any such views 
of the sovereignty of God as shall practically oper¬ 
ate to paralyze your efforts. It is true, according 
to the Scriptures, that God orders all events ac¬ 
cording to the counsel of his own will; and among 
these events is, the conversion of sinners. But he 
does not do this in any such way as to make it 
true that it makes no difference what we do. But 
he does it in perfect consistency with the charac¬ 
ter of man as a free agent. This is set forth in 
Peter’s address to the Jews: “Him, being deliv¬ 
ered, by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge 


164 


HOW MEN ARE TO BE SAVED. 


of God , ye have taken, and by vncJced hands , have 
crucified and slain.” Here the sovereignty of God 
and the free and responsible agency of the crea¬ 
ture are both fully recognized in the same act. If 
sinners are lost, it is by their own voluntary choice. 
If they are saved, it is by a voluntary turning from 
the error of their ways. God has given us a law, 
which, if obeyed, would make us as happy as the 
angels in heaven. All men have broken this law, 
and incurred its penalty, which is eternal death. 
The Lord Jesus Christ, in his abounding mercy 
and infinite love, has satisfied the law, and opened 
the way for the salvation of all, who will accept 
of it, as a free gift of God’s grace. This salvation 
is freely offered to all: “ He that believeth shall be 
saved; ” “ Whosoever will , let him come and take 
of the water of life freely.” But such is the stub¬ 
bornness of the natural heart that all, with one 
accord, reject the offer. If God had left us, with 
having made the offer of salvation, we should all 
have perished in our sins. And, if he had so left 
us, he would have been doubly just; first , because 
of the violation of his law, and second , for the 
rejection of the Gospel. But here is compassion 


REPENTANCE ENJOINED. 


165 


like a God! He does not thus leave us. He sends 
his Holy Spirit to incline the heart of the sinner 
to embrace the salvation so freely provided in the 
Gospel. But he does not force him to accept it 
against his will. He makes no miraculous change 
in the substance of the soul. He operates on the 
heart of the sinner, through his natural faculties, 
in such a way that the act produced, is the sinner’s 
own act, just as truly as if the Holy Spirit had 
not produced it. God thus “works in us to 
will and to do , of his good pleasure.” The 
sinner is commanded to repent and believe. God 
is the author of repentance and faith; yet they are 
the sinner’s own acts; and it is clear that, while he 
remains inactive, on the ground that he can do 
nothing, he will never repent and believe. God 
works in him to produce these very acts; but if 
he waits, with the plea that he can do nothing, he 
resists the Spirit of God. If he were disposed to 
obey the Gospel, there would be nothing in the 
way of his doing it. God works in him to produce 
that disposition; and therefore, to wait for a dis¬ 
position, is to counteract that work. The conver¬ 
sion of sinners is the sovereign act of God; yet 


166 


PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 


his sovereignty is not exerted arbitrarily nor capri¬ 
ciously, but according to the dictates of his uner¬ 
ring wisdom and the promises of his word. God 
has appointed certain means to accomplish certain 
ends. He has declared that the conversion of sin¬ 
ners is agreeable to his will. But this he has ap¬ 
pointed to be accomplished through the instru¬ 
mentality of his word, and by the agency of his 
Spirit. He has committed his word to his people 
and promised to give his Holy Spirit to them that 
ask. Our work, then, is, to lay divine truth upon 
the sinner’s conscience, and ask God for his Holy 
Spirit to make it effectual to their salvation. If 
God did not convert sinners by his sovereign 
grace, independent of anything in them, we might 
desjiair of their conversion; for, if left to them¬ 
selves they would go on to destruction. But the 
fact that God does interpose by his grace, to 
“ pluck them as brands from the burning,” encour¬ 
ages us to labor and pray for them. And when 
we persuade them to repent and believe, we coop¬ 
erate with the Spirit of God in his work. And we 
may address them as free agents, assuming, as the 


PROPER DIRECTIONS TO BE GIVEN. 


167 


Scriptures do, that what is required of them is a 
practicable thing to be done. 

Be prepared to give proper directions to inquir¬ 
ers, Let not the trumpet give an uncertain sound. 
Do not talk so much and to so little point as to 
confuse their minds. In the first place, you must 
have a clear apprehension of what it is to become 
a Christian. It is not enough that you have your¬ 
self experienced the great change called being 
“born again.” You must have clear views of 
what constitutes that change. It will not do to 
take your own experience as a standard, because 
the imperfection of human nature and defective 
instruction often mingle with and mar the experi¬ 
ence of good men. You must take the Scriptures 
as your guide. It is a sad thing to direct a man 
in the wrong road upon a journey, on which his 
temporal interests are depending; how much more, 
his eternal interests. In this matter, there is but 
one safe rule: and that is, to give no direction, 
which, if followed, will not save the soul. We 
have two scriptural examples, which furnish a per¬ 
fect guide. On the day of Pentecost, Peter an¬ 
swered the inquiry of those who were “ pricked in 


1G8 


A MORAL LIFE NOT SUFFICIENT. 


their hearts,” and cried out “men and brethren, 
what shall we do ? ” And we have the answer of 
Paul to the awakened jailer. These answers em¬ 
brace substantially the same thing; and no one 
can follow the directions here given without being 
saved. But, in order to bring to the test some 
things that are often said to inquirers, I will men¬ 
tion a few things which the apostles did not say , 
in answer to these inquiries: 

1. They did not tell those who made these inqui¬ 
ries , that they must lead a moral life. Why not ? 
Is not a moral life a good thing? Yes; but it 
comes entirely short of God’s requirements of a 
sinner. It will not atone for one transgression; 
nor, by reason of its imperfection, will it answer 
the present demands of the law. It was on this 
ground that the moral young man was sent away 
from Christ “ sorrowful.” 

2. They did not tell them: “Do as well as 
you can .” “ I do as well as I can, and what more 
can be required of me ? ” is often heard from the 
lips of impenitent men. But the Word of God 
says, “ Cursed is every one that continueth not in 


CONVICTION NOT CONVERSION. 


169 


all tilings that are written in the book of the law 
to do them.” 

3. The apostles did not tell them to be serious , 
and thinlc about religion. A man may he serious 
and think about religion all his days, and not be 
saved. I knew a middle-aged man in my native 
town, who was serious-minded, regular in his hab¬ 
its, careful of his conduct, and always in his place 
at church. Twenty years afterwards I visited the 
place, and he was an old, gray-headed man. I 
asked him how it was with his soul; and found 
that he stood just where he did twenty years be¬ 
fore ; and I have never yet heard of any change in 
him, and it is now more than twenty years since 
my last conversation with him. 

4. The apostles did not say , <c You have not con¬ 
viction enough—you must get more feeling .” The 
wicked on the left hand will have awful convic¬ 
tions at the judgment, but they will not be saved. 
Salvation cannot be purchased with feeling. Esau 
felt deeply, but found no place of repentance. 
Judas felt most intensely, and went and hanged 
himself. There is no merit in feeling , and many 
make of it a self-righteousness. 

15 


170 


USING THE MEANS NOT SUFFICIENT. 


5. The apostles did not tell inquirers to reform 
their lives , and prepare themselves for coming to 
Christ arid being converted. No reformation can 
be genuine till we come to Christ, “ for without 
faith it is impossible to please God.” No prepara¬ 
tion is needed for coming to Christ. None can be 
made by an impenitent sinner. He must come as 
he is. Still, it is true that no one will come, till 
he is ready to forsake his sins. 

6. They did not tell inquirers to read the Bible , 
pray , and go to church. Why? Are not these 
indispensable duties? Yes; duties they are for 
all; but there is no merit in them, nor any saving 
efficacy. A venerable minister in the West, now 
in glory, used to relate the following incident with 
bitter tears: “ In my early ministry, a woman came 
to me to inquire what she should do to be saved. 
I told her to go home and read the Bible and 
pray, be careful of her conduct, and attend upon 
all the means of grace. Some time after, I saw 
her, and inquired if she had followed my direc¬ 
tions. She said she had, and she felt better. But 
she had settled down into a state of careless secu¬ 
rity, from which I could never awaken her. I felt 


APOSTOLIC DIRECTIONS. 


171 


that I had murdered her soul; and I determined 
from that day forward, that I would never again 
give a direction to an inquiring sinner, which, if 
followed, would not save his soul ” 

Neither Peter nor Paul nor Silas said any of 
these things to those who inquired of them what 
they should do to he saved. Why not ? All these 
things are good. No man can be a Christian who 
does not lead a moral life; aim at doing as well as 
he can; be serious and think of religion; feel ap¬ 
propriate emotion in view of truth; and attend 
upon the means of grace. But one may do all 
these things, after the carnal mind, and for selfish 
purposes, without being a Christian. 

But, the directions given by the apostles were 
simple and direct. No man can mistake their im¬ 
port. Peter said, “ Repent and be converted, that 
your sins may be blotted out, when the times of 
refreshing shall come from the presence of the 
Lord; ” and Paul and Silas said to the awakened 
jailer, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
thou shalt be saved.” Both these directions em¬ 
brace substantially the same thing. No one could 
follow these directions without being saved. And 


172 


BANISH IMAGINARY DIFFICULTIES. 


any directions which do not agree with these will 
peril the soul of an inquirer. Those to whom 
these directions were given immediately followed 
them, and immediately found peace. But an awak¬ 
ened person may be greatly in the dark as to what 
repentance and faith are, and how he can exercise 
them; and on these points, you are to do all you 
can to enlighten him. But after you have done 
all, you must rely on the Holy Spirit to teach 
him. 

Banish from your mind all imaginary difficul¬ 
ties. Satan and your sluggish heart will always 
magnify the obstacles in the way of this duty. 
Mole-hills will appear like mountains. But these 
obstacles are more imaginary than real. The im¬ 
penitent are not so unwilling to converse on this 
subject as many suppose; and often they are anx¬ 
ious for the opportunity of opening their minds, 
and wonder why Christians do not speak to them 
in relation to their eternal interests. Let any 
Christian look back upon his own experience, pre¬ 
vious to his conversion, and he will doubtless re¬ 
collect the time when he felt thus. I have con¬ 
versed with many hundreds, in almost every vari- 


A FIRM PURPOSE REQUISITE. 


173 


ety of states of mind, not excepting avowed infi¬ 
dels, but have rarely met with one who did not 
receive it kindly, and treat me with courtesy. 

Form a deliberate , firm, and unshaken purpose 
to enter into this work heartily, with a determina¬ 
tion and actual intention , in reliance upon the Di¬ 
vine blessing, to convert souls. “ He which con¬ 
verted a sinner from the error of his ways,” says 
the apostle James, “shall save a soul from death, 
and hide a multitude of sins.” “Others save 
with fear,” says Jude, “ pulling them out of the 
lire.” “ Then will I teach transgressors thy ways, 
and sinners shall be converted unto thee.” From 
these passages, it appears scriptural to speak of 
Christians converting souls. Though we cannot 
convert them by our own power, yet we have 
such promise of God’s cooperation that we may 
calculate upon their conversion, with the faithful 
use of means, almost as certainly as we can calcu¬ 
late upon a harvest by sowing the seed and culti¬ 
vating the plants. There will be some failures; 
but in general it is true that “ seed-time and har¬ 
vest shall not fail.” Do not, therefore, go about 
this work in a faint-hearted spirit, as though you 
15 * 


174 DEPENDENCE ON GOD NECESSARY. 

had no prospect of success; but undertake it with 
the confident expectation of God’s blessing. 

Cherish a deep and abiding sense of your de¬ 
pendence upon the Spirit of God , as the author of 
a right spirit in yourself and of success with 
others. Without his gracious work upon the 
hearts of sinners, all your efforts for their salvation 
will be vain. If you go about the work relying 
upon your own strength, you will utterly fail. 
God will not encourage a self-confident, self-seek¬ 
ing spirit, in his children. “ I can do all things ,” 
says the apostle Paul, u through Christ which 
strengtheneth me.” A sense of your dependence 
will have a tendency to keep you humble. It will 
enable you to see your own impotence — cause 
you to be importunate in prayer, and to give all 
the glory of your success to God. The labors of 
such a spirit God will bless. 

Endeavor to qualify yourself for meeting all the 
varied forms in which the depyravity of the 
human heart manifests itself You will find some 
persons in a state of extreme ignorance of the 
simplest truths of the Gospel; others will agree to 
every thing you say, and yet leave the painful 


FORMS OF DEPRAVITY. 


175 


conviction upon your mind that they do not even 
make a?i effort to understand it; some are resting 
upon fatal errors ; others are entangled with real 
difficidties; and others still are prepared with 
numberless objections, merely for the sake of 
trifling , and getting rid of importunity. You 
will also find so many persons resting upon 
false grounds of confidence , that it is almost im¬ 
possible to approach their consciences; others will 
endeavor to deceive you, by representing their 
spiritual condition more favorably than they really 
think it to be; some will be found making ill- 
directed efforts to prepare themselves for becoming 
religious, and resting upon these efforts; some 
persons will converse freely, and yet treat your 
exhortations with marked neglect; and from others, 
perhaps, you may meet with open resentment. 
All these various cases require different modes of 
treatment. The word of God, which is the Chris¬ 
tian’s armor, is abundantly furnished with weapons 
adapted to every emergency. Study it diligently, 
for the purpose of arming yourself for the warfare. 
Read also the works of judicious writers, who have 
had extensive experience with awakened sinners. 


176 


BE MUCH IN PRAYER. 


From them yon may gather many useful hints to 
aid you in this work. And foremost among these, 
I would recommend the “ Pastor’s Sketches,” by 
Rev. Dr. Spencer. The memoirs of Harlan Page, 
Thomas Cranfield, and Alexander Peterson, also 
furnish examples of the work carried out in action. 

JBe much in prayer. This will be the great 
secret of your success. Meditate much upon the 
amazing promises of God in relation to prayer. 
Exercise strong and unshaken confidence in these 
promises. Try their’ reality, by actually putting 
forth the prayer of faith for the conversion of 
sinners. /Spend much time in prayer. All obstacles 
melt away before the spirit of prayer. There is, as 
it were, a heavenly atmosphere about a man of 
prayer which fills even opposers with awe. Before 
you go out to converse with the impenitent, first 
visit your closet, and obtain evidence in your own 
soul of the presence of God to go with you. Much 
depends upon this; for if the Spirit of God does 
not go with you, your labor will be lost. However, 
do not make your want of feeling an excuse for 
neglecting the duty. Your soul may be blest in 
the very act of discharging it. 


HOW TO DEAL WITH SOULS. 


177 


It is related of Rev. Dr. Nettleton that, when a 
young man engaged in teaching a school, he went 
to the minister of the place almost in despair, 
having given up his hope and concluded that he 
was in an impenitent state. After ascertaining 
his state of mind, the minister advised him to go 
back to his school and labor for the salvation of his 
pupils. He did so, and soon found some of them 
awakened. A revival followed. His doubts and 
troubles of mind left him, and never returned. 

HOW TO DEAL WITH SOULS. 

1. Survey your field of operations, so as to bring 
your general sense of obligation to bear upon 
particular persons. Religion is a personal concern 
— it affects men as individuals / and your efforts 
must be made to bear upon them as such. The 
ignorance, sin, daring impiety, thoughtless levity, 
and amazing stupidity which every where stare 
you in the face, when you survey your field of 
labor, should stir up your heart, and excite the 
deepest emotion. But do not rest satisfied with 
this general feeling. Ask, “ what sinners is it my 
duty to convert ? ” 


178 


SUCCESS TO BE EXPECTED. 


2. Study the character of the individuals whom 
you have selected as the objects of your efforts, 
and determine what means are best adapted to 
their case. 

3. Go to the work in a spirit of simple and 
humble dependence upon God, but with the ex¬ 
pectation of success. You will honor God by 
a strong confidence in the efficacy of his Word 
and Spirit, and by an unwavering faith in his 
grace and promises. “Be strong in the Lord.” 
This will make you as bold as a lion. It will inspire 
you with a courage and patience which no obstacles 
can daunt, and no opposition overcome. It will 
enable you to say with the Psalmist, “ The Lord 
of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. 
“ The God of Israel is the strength of his people.” 

4. Improve the most favorable opportunities for 
conversing with the impenitent. “A word spoken 
in due season, how good is it! ” 1 It is generally 
advisable to converse with them at those hours 
when they are least encumbered with business. 
When the mind is burdened with care, and the 
chilling interest of worldly pursuits exert full 


1 Prov. 15: 23. 


CHERISH A TENDER SPIRIT. 


179 


power, it is very difficult to reach the conscience. 
Yet do not carry this so far as to neglect opportu¬ 
nities for doing good, through excessive fear of 
doing harm. 

5. Maintain a tender, melting spirit . This was 
the feeling of the apostle Paul. “I have great 
heaviness and continual sorrow of heart — for my 
brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh.” 1 
“ By the space of three years I ceased not to warn 
every one day and night , with tears? 2 “ Out of 
much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto 
you with many tears .” 3 “For many walk, of 

whom I have told you often, and now tell you 
even weeping , that they are enemies of the cross 
of Christ.” 4 Such a spirit as this might melt a 
heart which would be provoked to opposition by 
a harsh , imperious manner. The late Rev. Joseph 
W. Barr, in relating his religious experience, 
speaks of the labors of a devoted deacon for his 
conversion. When the deacon began to address 
him on the subject of his salvation, he says, “my 
heart began to rise with bitterness never known 
before. I reproached him, pointed him to incon- 
i Rom. 9: 2, 3. 2 Acts 20: 31. 3 2 Cor. 2:4. * Phil. 3: 18. 


180 


GENTLENESS IRRESISTIBLE. 


sistencies in the church, raved like a madman, and 
while my conscience was grinding me like a mill¬ 
stone, I still kept pouring out my invectives. He 
bore it with meekness, — perfectly unmoved; and 
by his gentleness held up a shield which made 
every dart I threw recoil upon myself. His Chris¬ 
tian meekness was too much for me. I rose up 
and left him. If he had only given one retort, 
shown one angry feeling, it would have relieved 
me; but no, I could find no handle. I went out 
into a wood smarting under the wounds which 
I had been giving myself; and when I could stand 
under it no longer, returned, told the deacon my 
situation, asked his pardon, and begged his pray¬ 
ers. Truly, as Henry Martyn beautifully says, 
‘the power of gentleness is irresistible/” Ap¬ 
proach the impenitent, not in the assuming atti¬ 
tude of a teacher, but with the kind and tender 
expostulation of a friend and brother. Let even 
the tone of your voice indicate both your low 
estimate of yourself and the tender regard you 
feel for their souls. Even the same words which 
would provoke anger and opposition, when spoken 
in a loud and bold strain, might touch the heart, 


BOW" TO APPROACH THE IMPENITENT. 


181 


if advanced in a modest under-tone . “A soft 
answer turneth away wrath.” 1 “A word fitly 
spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of 
silver.” 2 

6. First ascertain, by kind and familiar inquiries, 
the present spiritual condition of the person with 
whom you converse: his knowledge of the funda¬ 
mental doctrines of Christianity, and feelings and 
determinations in relation to the interests of his 
soul. For introducing your subject, no better 
course can be recommended than to follow the 
example of our Saviour. He improved every 
opportunity for drawing out serious reflections 
from the most common occurrences of life. By 
the replies made to these reflections, you can form 
some estimate of the state of feeling. If you dis¬ 
cover any appearance of tenderness, you may 
safely proceed with faithful, affectionate, direct 
personal questions. But, if great insensibility is 
manifest, send up your heart to God for direction, 
while you use that “ wisdom which is profitable to 
direct.” The insensibility only shows, that there 
is the greater necessity, that, by some means, 
iProv. 15:1. 2 Prov. 25: 11. 

16 


182 


PERSUASIONS AND EXPLANATIONS. 


the power of the Gospel should be brought to his 
heart. By unnecessary abruptness, in cases of this 
kind, you may defeat your object. 

7. Try to persuade him to fix his attention on 
the truth, with a determination to obey it now / 
and to give up everything which has a tendency 
to divert his attention from the great concern of 
his soul’s salvation. Earnestly exhort him to 
break off all those connections and pursuits which 
tend to dissipate serious thought, and to bring 
himself thoroughly under those influences which 
tend to deepen the impression of the truth upon 
his heart. 

8. If the individual with whom you are con¬ 
versing is ignorant of the fundamental doctrines 
of Christianity, endeavor to explain to him, in as 
simple and brief a manner as possible, those great 
truths which it is necessary for him to believe, in 
order to become a Christian. Acquaint him with 
his true condition, as a lost and ruined sinner, and 
point out the only way of salvation through Christ. 
Try to make him understand the nature of true 
conversion. 

9. By no means enter into general and irrelevant 


APFEAL TO THE CONSCIENCE. 183 

discussions. This would defeat your whole pur¬ 
pose, by turning off the attention of the sinner 
from the consideration of his own personal state 
before God. Endeavor, in the most direct manner 
possible, to get at the conscience. This is gener¬ 
ally a most difficult matter. You will often find 
every avenue of approach most strictly guarded 
and most courageously defended. Your attention 
will be diverted by speculations upon doctrine; 
by scattered conversation about the inconsistent 
conduct of professors; the externals of religion; 
or something else entirely foreign to the personal 
interests of the individual. But do not suffer 
yourself to be drawn into an argument upon any 
of these matters. Ply the truth to his conscience, 
to make him feel that his controversy is with God. 
“For every man shall bear his own burden” 1 
“Every one shall give account of himself unto 
God.” 2 Be especially careful that you do not 
make yourself the offended party, and treat him 
as if he had injured you. Convince him that he 
himself is a lost sinner, already sentenced by the 
word of God, and every moment exposed to the 


i Gal. 6:15. 2K om . 14 ; 12, 


184 


OBLIGATIONS OP THE SINNER. 


agonies of eternal death. Show him. his absolute 
need of a Saviour. Press upon him the duty of 
immediate repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus 
Christ; and the danger and guilt of every mo¬ 
ment’s delay. Show him that every moment while 
he rejects the salvation offered in the Gospel, he 
is committing a new act of aggravated rebellion 
against God. Strive to bring him to a solemn 
pause, and to a determination to put off this great 
work no longer. Show him that he is an enemy 
to God; and that he can do nothing pleasing in 
his sight, till he ceases his rebellion and opposition 
to his government, by repentance and uncondi¬ 
tional submission. Yet, show him that he is 
under the most solemn obligation, not only to 
pray, but to perform every Christian duty; and 
that his impenitence and unbelief do not in the 
least release him from this obligation. Endeavor 
to remove the impression that a long season of 
distress must necessarily precede conversion; or 
that the work requires a series of protracted efforts. 
On the day of Pentecost three thousand were 
converted in a few hours; and the jailer believed 
and was baptized, rejoicing with all his house, the 


UNCONVERTED PERSONS HAVE IDOLS. 185 


same hour that he was brought under the influence 
of the truth. Show him that his only hope is in 
Christ; and that he can do nothing to recommend 
himself to the favor of God. lie must come as 
a sinner, acknowledging the justice of God in his 
condemnation, and cast himself upon His mere 
grace, through the atoning blood of Christ. He 
can make himself no better. Staying away from 
Christ to get more conviction or feeling (instead 
of coming to Christ as he commands) is sin, and 
only aggravates his guilt. Whatever may be his 
anxiety, his prayers, or his tears, he is continually 
unreconciled to God, so long as he refuses to 
accept of Christ, the only meritorious cause of 
salvation. 

10. Unconverted persons often have some par¬ 
ticular idol —some one object upon which their 
affections mainly centre. If possible, ascertain 
what this is. You will frequently meet with per¬ 
sons, who say they wish to be Christians; that 
they love Christ, and are willing to give him their 
hearts. With such your first object should be to 
convince them that they are deceived in supposing 
they wish to become Christians. Until this is 
16 * 


186 


MANY REST UPON THEIR ANXIETY. 


done, it is impossible to approach their consciences. 
The most effectual way to accomplish this, is to 
explain to them what is meant by “ forsaking all ” 
for Christ; 1 and then proceed to inquire whether 
they are willing to give up this or that object, 
until you discover the darling idol of their hearts. 
Then bend all your energies to that point. If you 
can persuade them to give up their favorite sin, 
they may soon make an entire surrender of every¬ 
thing else. 

11. You will find many sinners, under some 
degree of serious impression, who acknowledge 
that they are not “ altogether ” Christians; and 
yet seem to think they are in a fair way to become 
such. They are resting upon their anxiety; their 
regular attendance upon the means of grace; and 
upon trying, as they say, to “ do as icell as they 
can” They think if they persevere in this course 
of seeking , they shall so far gain the favor of God, 
that he will convert their souls. Show them that 
God will have no neutrals in his kingdom; that 
every man is either the friend or the enemy of 
God. “He that is not with me is against me.” 


1 Luke 14: 33. 


PRAY WITH THE IMPENITENT. 


187 


To meet this self-righteous spirit, show them the 
holiness and spirituality of God’s law; that a 
single transgression is an act of rebellion against 
his government; and that, while they pretend to 
be doing as well as they can, they are resisting the 
claims of God. They are trying to seek his favor, 
while they persevere in rejecting the only offer 
of mercy which he can make, consistently with the 
holiness and rectitude of his character. God abhors 
their unholy performances, while their rebellious 
hearts refuse to surrender, and accept of pardon 
and life on Sis own and only terms. 

12. If circumstances do not forbid it, pray with 
the individual with whom you have been convers¬ 
ing, before you leave him. Nothing is better cal¬ 
culated to soften the heart of an impenitent sinner, 
than a direct appeal to the throne of grace in his 
behalf; and if you do really offer up the prayer 
of faith, you may hope the Holy Spirit will descend 
upon him while you are yet speaking. If there is 
much evidence of serious impression, it may be 
proper, after you have prayed for him, and before 
you rise from your knees, to call on him to pray, 
and to surrender his heart to God immediately . 


188 


HAVE A SUPPLY OF TRACTS. 


Although he can perform no acceptable service 
while he continues in rebellion against God, yet 
it is in the attitude of prayer that he must cease 
his rebellion, surrender himself unconditionally to 
the government of God, and look to the blood of 
Christ, as the only hope of pardon. 

13. Keep a supply of tracts appropriate to the 
various circumstances of sinners; and leave with 
the person with whom you have been conversing 
one adapted to his case. This is of great im¬ 
portance ; as the reading of it will tend to fix upon 
his mind the impression your conversation may 
have made, and lead him to compare it with the 
word of God. 

14. When you have called up the attention 
of the sinner to a serious concern for the salvation 
of his soul, he is brought into a perilous condition . 
In no circumstances can the unconverted com¬ 
mit such aggravated sin, or engage in such high¬ 
handed rebellion against God, as when under the 
strivings of the Holy Spirit. Their situation is one 
of most imminent danger. On the one hand, they' 
are exposed to the delusions of a false hope / on 
the other, they are in danger of grieving the 


PERSEVERE IN EFFORTS. 


189 


Holy Spirit, and sealing their own condemnation. 
When, therefore, yon have been the instrument 
of bringing the sinner into this perilous condition, 
you are under the most solemn obligation, if he 
still remains within your reach, to follow up your 
efforts. When you have faithfully performed the 
duties already mentioned, leave him till he has 
had time for serious reflection, and deliberate 
action. But do not leave him too long, lest his 
impressions should wear off for want of the con¬ 
tinued application of the truth to his conscience, 
or lest temptations should beset his mind, which 
your kind counsel might remove. Bear him con¬ 
tinually upon your mind, and make him a subject 
of daily prayer in your closet. Agonize at the 
throne of grace for his soul. Take fast hold of 
the promises made to prayer; and let not your 
faith and supplications fail till you obtain the 
blessing. Repeat your visits from time to time, 
till you know the result. He is now in the con¬ 
dition of a sick person, whose disease is approach¬ 
ing the crisis. Watch over him as you would 
over your sick child, whose case is hanging between 
life and death. 


190 


CAUTIONS. 


15. Before repeating your visits, consider, in a 
prayerful manner, in what state of mind you left 
the individual with whom you have been laboring, 
and in what form the opposition of his heart to God 
was manifesting itself. And study how you can 
meet his objections, remove his difficulties, and 
drive him from his false refuges. This will enable 
you to act with promptness, and perhaps prevent 
you from being foiled. 

CAUTIONS. 

1. Avoid producing the impression upon the 
mind of the sinner that his present condition is 
his misfortune , rather than his guilt. This is 
often done by injudicious expressions of pity. 
"While you approach him with all the tenderness 
of a heart tremblingly alive to his situation, yet 
maintain the honor of God. The lost and ruined 
condition of the sinner is the result of his wilful 
and determined rebellion against his Maker. Show 
him that God’s justice would shine with unclouded 
splendor in his eternal punishment. He has de¬ 
liberately and wilfully transgressed God’s holy 


BE DIRECT. 


191 


law, rejected every offer of mercy, and obstinately 
resisted the Holy Ghost. If he goes down to 
eternal death, it will be of his own free will and 
deliberate choice. Sinners are disposed to throw 
the blame of their situation upon God, while he 
declares with emphasis, that “ they have destroyed 
themselves .” Let everything in your conversation 
be calculated to justify God and condemn the sin¬ 
ner— to show him that God is right and he is 
wrong . “ Let God be true and every man a liar.” 

2. Ho not think you have accomplished your 
object by engaging in general and vague conversa¬ 
tion about the importance of religion , etc. There 
are many things of this nature concerning which 
the sinner will agree with you; and you may 
leave him, after an hour’s conversation of this 
kind, with the self-complacent feeling that he is 
w not far from the kingdom of Heaven.” Especially 
avoid any common-place remarks just as you are 
about to leave him, after a serious attempt to 
reach his conscience. Every such thing tends to 
dissipate serious impressions. “ Then cometh the 
enemy, and catcheth away that which was sown.” 

3 Be very cautious in speaking to others about 


192 


CARELESS DEPORTMENT. 


the conversation you have had with individuals. 
Never do it unless some good end can plainly be 
accomplished by it. Do not mention it before 
unconverted persons, or in the presence of profes¬ 
sors of religion who manifest little interest in the 
conversion of sinners. “Your good will be evil 
spoken of.” 1 Do not speak of it for the gratifica¬ 
tion of idle curiosity, or gossiping egotism, or in 
an irreverent manner. 

4. Be cautious that nothing in your own con¬ 
duct may tend to neutralize the effect of your con¬ 
versation. “Nothing strikes such a deadly chill 
over the minds of those who are beginning to 
feel deeply the realities of eternity, as a light, 
worldly, or irreligious deportment in” professors 
of religion, and especially “those who at other 
times have used great apparent earnestness in 
urging them to flee from the wrath to come.” 2 
The author can testify to the truth of this remark, 
from painful experience, which had well nigh cost 
him his soul. This is one of the most fearful 
weapons which Satan wields in his contest with 
the awakened sinner, to destroy his confidence 


1 Romans 14: 16. 


2 Hints to Christians, p. 58. 


THE HEART DECEITFUL. 


193 


in the reality of experimental religion. If the 
sinner you are laboring to convert, witnesses 
in your own conduct the exhibition of selfish¬ 
ness, vanity, pride, censoriousness, frivolity, art¬ 
fulness, bitterness, envy, jealousy, or any other 
of the “works of the flesh,” your most earnest 
professions can never convince him of your sin¬ 
cerity ; and if he does not settle down upon the 
belief that heart religion is all a delusion, he will 
certainly come to the conclusion that you do not 
possess it; and thus your influence with him will 
be lost. 

5. Be very careful in your conversation with 
those who profess to have recently experienced a 
change of heart . “The heart is deceitful , above 
all things and the number of apparently dead 
professors in the church shows that persons may 
be deceived in relation to their supposed con¬ 
version. Instead of assuming at once that they 
are truly born again, as they hope, give them 
instruction adapted to their case, to search their 
hearts, and lead them to a sole dependence upon 
Christ, and leave time to test the question of the 

genuineness of their conversion. 

17 


194 THE TRUTH SHOULD BE PRESENTED. 

But on the other hand, do not treat them in 
such a way as to beat them back into a state of 
despondency and doubt, which may mar their 
Christian experience and hinder their usefulness 
for years. Lead them the rather into the per¬ 
formance of those duties, and to that course of 
Christian activity, which are the natural and ne¬ 
cessary fruits of true Christian experience. 

Persons of different temperament require differ¬ 
ent treatment. The bold and self-confident need 
caution and heart-searching; while the diffident 
and self-distrustful require encouragement. 

6. See that you make use of no other means 
of exciting the feelings of sinners than the truth. 
Let this be presented in all its most interesting, 
soul-stirring, awakening power. There is no dan¬ 
ger of undue excitement, in view of the truth. 
Its solemn realities are calculated to rouse every 
faculty of the soul. But any religious feeling 
which is not produced by the truth, made effec- 
ual by the Holy Spirit, is not genuine. It is 
through the truth that the Spirit of God operates 
in the conversion and sanctification of souls. “ Of 
his own will begat he us, with the word of truth” 


SPURIOUS RELIGIOUS FEELING. 


195 


“Seeing ye have purified your souls, in obeying 
the truth through the Spirit .” “ Being born again 

by the Word of God” “Sanctify them through thy 
truth” But there is a kind of indefinite religious 
feeling which many mistake for Christian experi¬ 
ence. They feel, and perhaps deeply; but they 
know not ichy they feel. This is a delusion of 
the enemy of souls. By persuading them to rest 
upon this spurious religious feeling , he as surely 
accomplishes their destruction as if he had kept 
them in carnal security. The fearful effects of 
this evil may sometimes be seen in religious ex¬ 
citements, where the truth is but indistinctly held 
up before the minds of the people. There are 
doubtless thousands in the church, who at times 
may be deeply moved with this indefinite kind 
of feeling, who yet cannot give a reason of the 
hope that is in them . The clearer our views of 
truth are, the more spiritual and holy will be 
our religious affections. What an awful respon¬ 
sibility rests upon those who deal with immortal 
souls! 


CHAPTER YI. 


KEFLEX INFLUENCE OF PERSONAL EFFORT FOR 
THE SALTATION OF SOULS. 

Never had the saying of Jesns, “ It is more 
blessed to give than to receive,” a richer verifi¬ 
cation than in the case of those who put forth 
self denying labors to save the souls of their 
fellow-men. The author can testify to this from 
his own experience. Ever since making a Chris¬ 
tian profession, he has always acted on the princi¬ 
ple of foregoing religious privileges himself, if 
thereby he might extend them to others. And 
he has always found these labors more profitable 
to his own soul than sitting to drink in instruc¬ 
tion from others. In missionary labors, such a 
principle is indispensable. A teacher in a mission 
Sabbath school who attempts to attend upon all 
the services of the church to which he belongs, 
will either neglect his work, or wear himself out 
with excessive labor. But if all Christians, who 


DR. GUTHRIE, OF EDINBURGH. 


197 


are capable of doing it, would devote the after¬ 
noon of the Sabbath to missionary efforts, and 
forego their second sermon, they would find the 
proverb true, “ He that watereth shall be watered 
also himself.” I am heartily glad to be able to 
quote, in favor of this opinion, which I have long 
entertained, so good an authority as that of Rev. 
Dr. Thomas Guthrie, of Edinburgh. In his work 
on “ The City , its Sins and its Sorrows” he says: 
“Why should not some, who now, on Sabbath 
days, enjoy two services in the house of God, 
content themselves with one, and at the time of 
the other, go forth to give what they have re¬ 
ceived ? The bread would multiply in their 
hands.” By this means, the busiest man might 
find time to visit his district; and the great ob¬ 
stacle in the way of supplying mission Sabbath 
schools with teachers would be removed. And 
I am sure this service would tend more to their 
growth in grace, yea, and in knowledge too, 
than devoting all the hours of the Sabbath to the 
passive reception of instruction. Such a course 
would give time for the inward digestion of the 
truth; and the necessity of reproducing it, in order 
17* 


198 STRENGTH INCREASED BY EXERCISE. 

to distribute it to others, would deepen the im¬ 
pression, and fix it indelibly upon their minds. 
Cecil says, “A contemplative life has more the 
appearance of a life of piety than any other. But 
it is the divine plan to bring faith into activity 
and exercise. We choose that sort of walk which 
we like best: if we love quiet, we are for seden¬ 
tary piety; but the design of God is, to root us 
out of everything and bring us into more useful 
stations.” 

Missionary effort is the best means of quicken¬ 
ing and developing individual piety. The Chris¬ 
tian graces, in their growth, follow the analogy of 
nature, which everywhere exhibits one universal 
law, that STRENGTH IS INCREASED BY EXERCISE. 

Why is the oak that grows in the open field 
stronger than the one that grows in the forest? 
Not because it has a richer soil, but because, from 
the time it was a tender twig, it has been exposed 
to the fury of the winds, whose incessant blasts 
have given it a firmer root, a stronger trunk, and 
more vigorous branches. And why is the arm 
that wields the axe or the hammer stronger than 
the one that moves the pen? Because the vig- 


MEANS OP GROWTH IN GRACE. 


199 


orous exercise of tlie muscles produces develop¬ 
ment and strength. And why is the educated 
man cajiable of grasping an intricate and diffi¬ 
cult subject, which the unlearned and ignorant 
cannot fathom? Not simply because he has more 
knowledge; but because his mental powers have 
been strengthened and developed by exercise; 
while the mind of the other has lain dormant 
and inactive. This is true of the Christian in two 
ways : first, in relation to his ability to apprehend 
and explain divine truth ; and second, in relation 
to the growth and vigor of his Christian graces. A 
Christian who employs what ability he has in the 
instruction of a class in the Sabbath school, or 
in religious conversation, will increase in divine 
knowledge tenfold more than one who exercises 
his mind only in hearing and reading. The con¬ 
tact with other minds, and the necessity of under¬ 
standing what he communicates, invigorates his 
powers ; and the graces of his heart are quickened 
by calling into exercise his zeal for the glory of 
God, his compassion for perishing souls, his spirit 
of prayer, his patience in labor, his faith and hope, 
his perseverance. There is as much difference be- 


200 


IMPROVEMENT OF TALENTS. 


tween the active and the passive Christian as 
there is between the cistern that receives the 
water which the rain pours into it, and the well 
which is supplied from a living spring deep down 
in the earth. 

These results are seen everywhere whenever 
the experiment is tried. I have seen young 
men, who had never opened their mouths in re¬ 
ligious meetings, after laboring a few months in 
a mission Sabbath school, receive as it were a 
new life, and develop gifts of rare value to the 
church. I knew a man, many years ago, who be¬ 
fore his conversion seemed to be a person of very 
small capacities and acquirements. But as soon as 
the new life entered his soul, it manifested itself. 
He began to labor for other souls with his one 
talent. He took a class in a mission Sabbath 
school. He prayed in meetings. He conversed 
with his fellow-men. He grew not only in grace, 
but in knowledge and capacity, to the surprise 
of every one ; till at length he was chosen an 
elder in an intelligent and cultivated city con¬ 
gregation. 

So, likewise, the strength of the church is in 


STRENGTH OF THE CHURCH. 


201 


her aggressive, missionary character. Her whole 
history shows that, when she puts herself on the 
defensive, and aims chiefly at maintaining her 
position and seeking her own edification, she soon 
loses her vitality and falls into decay; or else she 
becomes the prey of dissensions, schisms, or apos¬ 
tasies. But, whenever she has put herself on the 
offensive, and made direct war on the kingdom 
of darkness, “her little one has become a thous¬ 
and, and her small one a strong nation.” This 
accords with the principles declared and exem¬ 
plified in the word of God : “ There is that scat¬ 

tered and yet increased : and there is that with- 
holdeth more than is meet, but it tended to 
poverty.” The strength of the church lies, not 
in its contraction, but in its expansion. When 
Elijah met the widow of Zarephath, and asked 
her for a morsel of bread, she said she had only 
a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in 
a cruse, and she was gathering two sticks to dress 
it for herself and her son, that they might eat 
and die. The prophet replied, “ Make me a lit¬ 
tle cake thereof first.” This would seem a hard 
requisition, — to ask of her a portion of the last 


202 


god’s providence illustrated. 


morsel in her house when there was a famine 
in the land. But she obeyed ; and the barrel 
of meal and the cruse of oil wasted not. She 
and her household and the man of God ate there¬ 
of many days, till the Lord sent rain upon the 
earth. This, to be sure, was a miracle; but it 
illustrates a general principle, of universal appli¬ 
cation. It agrees, also, with the analogy of na¬ 
ture, and with the history of God’s providence. 
The principle is dispersion rather than concen¬ 
tration. Those trees and plants that multiply 
most profusely are provided with downy wings, 
attached to their seeds, which scatter them in 
all directions, with every wind that blows; or, 
in other cases, God has provided the bird which 
feeds on the fruit, to transport its seed to distant 
lands. God’s providence carries out the same 
principle in his dealings with men. After the 
flood, when the children of Noah would have 
settled down in the land of Shinar, he sent down 
and destroyed their works, and by confounding 
their language, obliged them to disperse. After 
Christ’s ascension, when the disciples would have 
remained at Jerusalem, and confined their efforts 


EFFORT INCREASES STRENGTH. 


203 


to their own countrymen, he sent a persecution, 
to scatter them abroad, that they might disperse 
the good seed of the word. 

Whenever a church enlarges her efforts for the 
benefit of the destitute, whether in giving or in 
personal labor, the effort will not diminish but 
increase her strength. Suppose the members of a 
church to be all engaged in sustaining her own in¬ 
stitutions, and her affairs move on with regularity, 
until everything assumes the air of stereotyped 
monotony. If she goes on so, she will very likely 
become completely fossilized and powerless. But 
let some of them, moved with compassion for souls, 
look out a destitute field, visit the people who live 
in the neglect of religion, establish a Sabbath 
school, and maintain religious meetings. A new 
element of life has entered that church. The fire 
kindled in these hearts will glow and burn till 
they cannot contain it. It will warm other hearts, 
and produce commotion, and wake up the sleep¬ 
ers. And very likely the Spirit of the Lord will 
be poured out, gathering the young into the 
church, bringing their youthful vigor and enthusi¬ 
asm to the work, and giving fresh impulse to every 


204 


PROMISED BLESSING. 


department of labor. Would not this be a greater 
accession of strength than could have been secured 
by the same labor bestowed within the pale of the 
church and congregation ? But in addition to the 
promised blessing upon him that “ scattereth,” 
such a course of labor tends naturally to such a 
result. 


CHAPTER VIII. 


CONNECTION OF PRAYER WITH THE DISPENSATION 
OF MERCY. 

The Prophet Ezekiel, after describing, in glow¬ 
ing terms, the blessings of the new covenant, con¬ 
cludes with this significant declaration: “I will 
yet for this be inquired of by the house of 
Israel to do it for them.” Among these blessings 
are the following: “Then will I sprinkle clean 
water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all 
your filthiness and from all your idols, will I 
cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, 
and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will 
take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I 
will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my 
spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my 
statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments to do 
them.” This passage is very explicit, evidently 
referring to the renewing and sanctifying grace of 
the Holy Spirit. Yet for all this, he declares that 
18 


206 BLESSINGS IN ANSWER TO PRAYER. 

he will be “inquired of;” an expression used to 
denote seeking the Lord by prayer. He would be 
inquired of for the blessings which he had prom¬ 
ised, and verified by the declaration, “ I the Lord 
have spoken it and I will do it.” This establishes 
a connection between prayer and the dispensation 
of mercy; and it appears, from this passage, that 
God has ordained, as a part of his plan of dealing 
with his people, that the blessings he bestows 
upon them, and especially spiritual blessings, shall 
be in answer to prayer. But, upon what grounds 
has he so determined? 

It is certainly not because he needs information 
concerning our wants. “All things are naked and 
opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have 
to do; ” and he knows what things we have need 
of before we ask him. He knows our desires; and 
he knows infinitely better than we what things 
would be good for us. The object of prayer, 
therefore, cannot be to impart any information to 
God, either concerning our wants or our desires. 

Neither does God bestow blessings in answer to 
our prayers because there is any merit in them. 
Prayer, though a duty enjoined in the word of 


PRAYER NOT MERITORIOUS. 


207 


God, and an act acceptable to Him, is not a meri¬ 
torious act. It has nothing in it of the nature of 
merit. “ Prayer is the offering up of our desires to 
God, for things agreeable to his will, with confes¬ 
sion of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment 
of his mercies.” It is an act becoming in one 
who sues for grace, with the acknowledgment of 
his own unworthiness, and the feeling that, by rea¬ 
son of his character as a sinner, he can perform no 
meritorious act. It is supplication for unmerited 
favor. And God does not bestow blessings in an¬ 
swer to prayer, as a reward of merit for the pray¬ 
ers offered. After rehearsing the promises we 
have referred to, he reminds his people of their 
unworthiness, saying, “Then shall ye remember 
your own evil ways, and your doings that were 
not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own 
sight, for your iniquities and for your abomina¬ 
tions;” and then adds with emphasis, “ Not for 
your saJces do I this, be it known unto you; ” so 
that his subsequent declaration that he would be 
inquired of to do it for them, gives no intimation 
that he would bestow it as a reicard of merit. 

Nor is it because he needs persuasion , in order 


208 


PRAYER AND GOD’S PURPOSES. 


to be placable or merciful, that God waits to be 
inquired of before be bestows the blessings of liis 
grace. He is, in bis own nature, merciful. Mercy 
is one of bis eternal and unchangeable attributes; 
and be has, out of bis mere mercy, and self-moved 
beneficence, made provision for harmonizing the 
claims, of Justice with the exercise of Mercy. 
Therefore he needs no persuasion to induce him 
to be merciful, or to dispose him to grant the bles¬ 
sings we need. 

Neither is it the design or object of prayer to 
change the mind or purposes of God . His pur¬ 
poses are eternal and unchangeable. He “ declares 
the end from the beginning and from ancient 
times the things not yet done, saying, My counsel 
shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure.” “ He 
is in one mind, and who can turn him ? And what 
his soul desireth, even that he doeth.” And who 
is so presumptuous as to think of changing the 
mind of the infinite and unchangeable Jehovah? 
It is nevertheless true that his administration is 
eternally and unchangeably affected by the pray¬ 
ers of his people. It even enters into his eternal 
purpose that he will be so affected; and the offer- 


PRAYER THE FRUIT OF GRACE. 


209 


ing up of the prayers, in answer to which his bles¬ 
sings are bestowed, is as much the subject of that 
purpose as the blessing itself. These prayers are 
the fruit of his grace: I will pour upon the house 
of David and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem,” 
he says, “ the spirit of grace and of supplication ” 
Those very desires that are offered up to God are 
excited by the Holy Spirit. “ For we through 
him have access, by one Spirit , unto the Father.” 
“ Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: 
for we know not what we should pray for as we 
ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession 
for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered. 
And he that searcheth the heart knoweth what is 
the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh inter¬ 
cession for the saints, according to the will of God .” 
This is one part of his gracious dispensation, ne¬ 
cessary to secure the end in view; which, while it 
shows our dependence, fastens upon us our own 
obligations. And, though we may not perceive 
fully the reasons, which influenced the Divine 
Mind in ordaining this connection between prayer 
and the dispensation of his mercies, yet we can see 
18 * 


210 


MORAL FITNESS OF PRAYER. 


reasons enough to show the wisdom and propriety 
of this arrangement. 

First, there is a moral fitness in it. Prayer is 
an act of worship; and worship is due from the 
creature to the Creator. The creature is depend¬ 
ent upon the Creator for all things; and it is meet 
and proper that such dependence should be felt 
and acknowledged. Man is not only a dependent , 
but a sinful creature; and it is suitable and be¬ 
coming that he should confess his sins to the Su¬ 
preme Ruler, whose laws he has violated, to his 
Heavenly Father, whom he has offended. God 
is the source of all blessings. It is becoming in 
dependent beings to resort to him in time of need. 
And as sinful creatures deserve nothing from his 
hand, it is suitable that we should render thanks 
to him for the blessings which he bestows. 

As to the propriety of intercessory prayer for 
others, it may be observed that, while God in 
his sovereignty carries on his own work in the 
earth, supplies the wants of the needy, and de¬ 
livers the oppressed, with his own hand; his peo¬ 
ple are the agents he employs to build up his 
cause, to carry on his work, and to minister 


INFLUENCE OF PRAYER UPON OURSELVES. 211 


to the necessities of the destitute. It is, there¬ 
fore, becoming in them to ask counsel of Him 
by whom they are so employed, and seek his 
efficacious power to give success to their efforts. 
They can do nothing independent of Him; and 
to require them to ask his blessing on their en¬ 
deavors, and never to bestow it without being 
inquired of by them, tends directly to keej) up 
in them a sense of their dependence. Nor does 
the fact that they are dependent on God for the 
very ability and disposition to pray to him fur¬ 
nish any greater objection against the act, than 
the fact that they are dej>endent upon God for 
the power and disposition to inhale the breath 
of life, against the effort to breathe. The effi¬ 
ciency of God and the agency of the creature are 
inseparable in both cases. 

Another reason is found in the influence which 
•prayer exerts upon ourselves. What else could 
bring us into a suitable attitude for receiving 
the blessing of God’s grace ? The invoking 
of God as our heavenly Father, tends to pro¬ 
duce a sense of dependence, and to keep alive 
the feeling of filial affection, or, as Paul calls it, 


212 ADORATION, CONFESSION, SUPPLICATION. 

the <c spirit of adoption.” Adoration brings be¬ 
fore ns the character and attributes of God, and 
impresses us with holy awe and filial fear. It 
fills the mind with solemnity, in view of his Om¬ 
nipresence, gives reality to things unseen, and 
inspires confidence in view of his ablility and 
disposition to fulfil his jiromises. It quickens 
our love, by the review of his excellence and 
the rehearsal and praise of his goodness. Con¬ 
fession calls to mind our own character, fills us 
with a sense of unworthiness, quickens conscience, 
and excites penitence. Supplication impresses us 
with our own wants, and intercession with the 
wants of others. And gratitude is awakened by 
thanksgiving. All these affections are necessary 
to prepare us rightly to receive the blessings 
which God is wont to bestow upon his sinful 
creatures. And this shows why he withholds his 
answers to our prayers till they present certain 
characteristics set forth in his word as necessary 
to acceptable prayer. To bestow blessings upon 
us without these, would be to do us an injury ; 
since they could not do us good, if we were not 
prepared to receive them. These characteristics 


CHARACTERISTICS OF ACCEPTABLE PRAYER. 213 


are, humility and self-abasement; a sense of need; 
earnest desire ; confidence in God and faith in his 
promises; supreme regard for his glory; impor¬ 
tunity ; perseverance against obstacles; and sub¬ 
mission to the will of God. It would injure us 
to receive the things we ask for, without these 
dispositions of heart. Prayer tends to produce 
these dispositions; and where it is but weak and im¬ 
perfect, God’s delaying to answer our prayers, 
and our importunity and perseverance, under 
these delays, tend to increase and strengthen 
them. 

It would be as easy for the Almighty to be¬ 
stow his blessings without prayer as with it, but 
it would not be as wise. The divine wisdom 
is conspicuous in this feature of his administra¬ 
tion. He bestows his mercy in answer to prayer 
that it may the better accomjfiish its objects. The 
inseparable connection of divine and human agen¬ 
cy, in the work of salvation, is here clearly seen. 
The two great subjects of dependence and free 
agency are here brought together and seen beauti¬ 
fully to harmonize. While it makes the grace of 
God the source of all the good within us, it shows 


214 


MOTIVE TO PRATER. 


the necessity, in every stage of it, for the coopera¬ 
tion of the creature. The apostle exhorts us to 
work out our own salvation with fear and tremb¬ 
ling, because it is God that works in us to will and 
to do of his good pleasure. Thus, we have a 
motive to pray to God for the blessings we need, 
because he gives us the spirit of supplication. 
And while we feel our own impotence, we have 
the highest encouragement to pray for his blessing 
to attend our endeavors, because he declares that 
for all that he has promised to do for his people, 
he will be inquired of by them to do it for them. 
Therefore, however great, glowing, and wonder¬ 
ful are the promises and predictions of the latter- 
day glory of Zion, that day will not come with¬ 
out the prayers of God’s people; because, with 
those promises, he has recorded the declaration, 
that, for all these things he will be inquired of by 
them. And the consistency of the two is ex¬ 
plained, when it is understood that all true 
prayer is the fruit of grace wrought in the 
heart by the Holy Spirit, if not by his direct 
dictation. And this removes all the mystery 
that envelops the fact that God hears and an¬ 
swers prayer. 


GOD WILL BE INQUIRED OF. 


215 


We find here, also, a strong motive to be dili¬ 
gent, earnest, and faithful in prayer. This is the 
only channel through which spiritual blessings 
flow into the soul. However many, great and 
precious the promises of God, he will be inquired 
of by his people to do for them the things which 
he has promised. If they do not ask they will 
not receive. 

The same is true, also, of unregenerate men. 
Among the things specified, for which God will 
be inquired of, is a new heart / and that is what 
the natural man needs, in order to become a child 
of God. Nor do we countenance “unregenerate 
doings,” as acceptable to God, by exhorting the 
sinner to pray; since we do but exhort him to per¬ 
form a duty enjoined in God’s word ; and that not 
with an impenitent unbelieving heart, but with 
penitence and faith. And who can tell but that, 
in the very act of attempting to perform a Chris¬ 
tian duty, so obviously binding on all, God may 
give him grace to do it in a right manner ? There 
is no hope of any improvement in his condition, 
while he continues to live a prayerless life. It 
is a mark of the wicked, whom God abhors, that 


216 NO CONVERSION WITHOUT PRAYER. 

they “cast off fear and restrain prayer before God.” 
The prayerless soul is a guilty soul. What an 
ungrateful return it must be to the greatest and 
best of beings, on whose bounty we are feeding 
every day, to rise up in the morning and lie down 
at night, without once speaking to Him, to ac¬ 
knowledge our dependence, entreat his favor, or 
thank him for his mercies. I never heard of any 
one being converted without attempting to pray; 
and it seems scarcely possible that right feelings 
can ever be produced in the soul, except it be 
under the influence of prayer. It is scarcely pos¬ 
sible to conceive of the exercises which are pre¬ 
paratory to receiving Christ, as existing in & 
prayerless soul. Let a person be thoroughly 
awakened, and you cannot keep him from prayer. 
He will not stop to inquire whether his prayers 
are acceptable, but he will cast himself down be¬ 
fore God, and cry out, “ God be merciful to me a 
sinner! ” 


CHAPTER VIII. 


PRAYER MEETINGS. 

As this work is designed chiefly to bring the 
lay element of our churches into more vigorous 
contact with the unevangelized masses; and as 
meetings for prayer and Christian conference, in 
connection with Christian visitation, are among 
the most effective means to this end, some sug¬ 
gestions on the subject may not here be out of 
place. 

Prayer-meetings have ever been the life of the 
church ; or rather, the channel through which that 
life has manifested itself. But, for the most part, 
they have, until recently, attracted little notice 
from the world. They have been attended by 
few except members of the church, and of them, 
only the most spiritual portion. There may be 
exceptions to this remark, but in general, so far 
as my observation extends, it has been true. 

19 


218 


CONVENTIONS FOR FRAYER. 


In times of awakening, it has been otherwise; and 
yet never to such an extent as in the recent Re¬ 
vival (1858). Of this work of grace, the general 
disposition of all classes to attend such meetings 
has been a marked feature. To me it seems to be 
one of the most encouraging signs of a new era in 
the churches. 


CONVENTIONS FOR PRATER. 

Twelve years ago, one of the pioneer home mis¬ 
sionaries in the West, wrote to me as follows: 
“Last summer, we had a refreshing season at the 

convention at D-. God smiled upon us in 

that convention, and we hoped that the brethren 
would have remained together a longer season for 
prayer, until we were “endued with power from 
on high.” But they hastened away before they 
laid hold of the blessing; and my hopes were dis¬ 
appointed. This, with other things, has led me to 
think much of striving to introduce such conven¬ 
tions for the single object of prayer and devotional 
exercises,—such as are predicted in Zech. 8 : 20 as 
being held before the.future conversion and restor¬ 
ation of the children of Israel: an event which 



zechariah’s prediction. 


219 


will be as 1 life from the dead,’ to the church of 
God. ‘ Thus saith the Lord of hosts, It shall yet 
come to pass, that there shall come people, and 
the inhabitants of many cities: and the inhabitants 
of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go 
speedily to pray before the Lord, and to seek the 
Lord of hosts. I will go also.’ It appears to me 
that such conventions might be held now, and if 
held, would do more good than all the associa¬ 
tions and assemblies of our churches, where there 
is so much discussion on points that improve nei¬ 
ther the mind nor heart. That they will be held, 
I have no doubt; and I pray God to put it into 
the hearts of his people to hold them ere this year 
shall close. Suppose you think of it, and propose 
to begin one in your region to close this year and 
begin the next in such a meeting, and to continue 
until you have sought God in united and fervent 
prayer, so that you know he has heard your re¬ 
quests ? Has prayer, as a means of promoting per- 
sonal holiness; of removing obstacles to the spread 
of the Gospel; of reviving the graces and uniting 
the hearts and efforts of God’s people; and of se¬ 
curing general pure and powerful revivals of relig- 


220 


TEN DAYS’ PRAYER-MEETING. 


ion, at home and abroad, bad a fair trial ? There 
was one trial, at the opening of the Gospel dispen¬ 
sation, when one hundred and twenty continued 
ten days in prayer; hut the power of prayer, as it 
might be displayed in a convention of holy hearts 
and minds, assembled for the sole purpose of prayer 
and seeking the Lord of hosts, has never yet been 
displayed on earth. But it is one of the means 
which I am persuaded must be used, before a na¬ 
tion shall be born in a day.” 

I laid the suggestion of this good brother before 
the Christian public, in one of the religious papers 
of the day, but heard no response to it, from any 
quarter. It, however, produced a strong impres¬ 
sion upon my own mind, which I have never for¬ 
gotten. And, it is remarkable that the first public 
movement, preparatory to the present work of 
grace, was the holding of such conventions as that 
here recommended. A convention of four synods, 
to the number of two hundred ministers and lay¬ 
men, met for prayer and consultation, as to the 
revival of religion, just before the close of the last 
year, at Pittsburgh, Pa., and continued in session 
three days. And not long after another similar 


UNION FRAYElt-MEETINGS. 


221 


convention was licld in Cincinnati. Moreover, the 
“Union Prayer-Meetings,” which have since ex¬ 
tended all over the land, have been emphatically 
conventions for prayer . They have consisted of 
informal representations from the various churches 
of different denominations. Those that have been 
held in the city of New York have had an imme¬ 
diate constituency of nearly a million of people; 
besides which, delegates have been present at the 
daily meetings, from all parts of the land, east, 
west, north, and south. Nor is it a matter of 
insignificance that these meetings have to so great 
an extent, and without concert, been held at the 
same hours, in all parts of the land. The promise 
of the Saviour’s presence, in these meetings, is 
made to agreement in prayer. And, since there 
was a universal agreement to pray for the outpour¬ 
ing of the Holy Spirit, it is comely and proper 
that there should be an agreement as to the time. 

DEFECTS IN PRAYER. 

Since these meetings have assumed such impor¬ 
tance, a few hints and suggestions to those who 
19 * 


222 


DEFECTS IN PRAYER. 


conduct them, and to those who take part in them, 
may not he out of place in this work. They are, 
however, offered with diffidence; because, “ where 
the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty;” and 
this gives interest to a meeting, while nothing else 
can supply its place. Still, at such times, the good 
effects of such meetings are often marred by want 
of judgment and tact in the person who leads, or 
want of good sense on the part of those who take 
part in the exercises. The defects of prayer-meet¬ 
ings have been pointed out, and efforts made to 
correct them, ever since my recollection; and yet, 
the language applied by Bunyan to his “ Slough 
of Despond,” seems equally appropriate here: “ It 
is not the pleasure of the King that this place 
should remain so bad. His laborers have, by the 
direction of His Majesty’s surveyors, been, for 
above these sixteen hundred years, employed 
about this patch of ground, if perhaps it might 
have been mended: yea, there have been swal¬ 
lowed up at least twenty thousand cart-loads, yea, 
millions of wholesome instructions, that have at 
all seasons been brought from all places of the 
King’s dominions, if so be it might have been 


TENDENCY TO FORMALITY. 


223 


mended; but it is the Slough of Despond still, 
and so will be when they have done what they 
can.” 

The most common fault in prayer-meetings 
arises from the tendency of things to fossilize and 
grow into a stiff, formal routine. This is an evil 
that it is not easy to remedy, except by a general 
rising up to a higher spiritual life. Yet this evil 
itself stands in the way of such a change. A set 
and stiff formality operates like an iron cap on the 
head of an infant, to prevent growth. No im¬ 
provement can be expected till it is broken up. 

The common faults, committed by those who 
lead in social prayer have so often been pointed 
out, and yet so seldom rectified, that it seems a 
hopeless task to repeat them. I shall, however, 
mention a few of the most prominent: 

1. Praying in a circle. Some men have a cer¬ 
tain mould into which they run all their prayers. 
They must always travel the same round. No 
matter if they have a specific object set before 
them, they must travel the circle before they can 
reach it; and before they get through, they often 
forget that specific object. I have frequently 


224 


PRAYING IN A CIRCLE. 


known special requests for prayers entirely disre¬ 
garded in this way. Where there are a number 
of persons to engage in prayer, it is not necessary 
that every prayer should embrace every object of 
petition, or even all the parts of prayer. “ Prayer 
is the offering up of our desires unto God, for 
things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, 
with thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.” If 
a man has any desires that press on his heart, he 
does not require a set form of words, or a stereo¬ 
typed jihraseology to express them. But he comes 
with the simplicity and directness of a child to its 
parent, and expresses the feelings of his heart. If 
he has no desires, he cannot offer to God what he 
has not. If he feels his sins, his confessions will 
gush out of a broken heart. If gratitude is in his 
heart, it will find a hearty expression. Such in¬ 
cense needs no brazen censer. It rises u]3 from a 
burning heart, a “sweet-swelling savor” to the 
Lord. 

2. Preaching prayers. Some good men under¬ 
take to describe all the faults of their brethren, in 
their prayers, and to set forth the states of mind 
of all the various classes of sinners. It is impossi- 


CANT PHRASES IN PRAYER. 


225 


ble not to feel that such prayers are designed for 
the ears of men rather than of God; nor is it easy 
to suppress the shock that the mind feels at such 
unbecoming irreverence. 

3. Use of hackneyed , repulsive , and cant phrases. 
An offence against good taste hinders the devo¬ 
tion of a serious mind. However much we may 
seek to suppress it, disgust is involuntary; and 
when the sense of propriety is offended, even the 
effort to suppress this involuntary emotion dis¬ 
tracts the mind, and prevents edification. Hence, 
it is the duty of those who lead in social prayer, to 
study such propriety of expression as shall prevent 
anything falling repulsively upon the ears of those 
who are attempting to join in the exercise. 

4. Misquoting Scripture. The use of Scripture 
language in prayer is profitable, provided it ex¬ 
presses the feelings of the heart, and is not per¬ 
verted, or made formal by constant use. But mis¬ 
quoting a familiar passage disturbs the devotions 
of others, by leading the mind away to the correc¬ 
tion, and thus distracting the thoughts. For in¬ 
stance : To the passage, “ Where two or three are 
gathered together in my name, there am I in the 


226 


BOISTEROUS PARYERS. 


midst of them,” the words, “and that to bless 
them ” are not ^infrequently added — words that 
are not found in Scripture. This is only one of a 
multitude. The objection does not lie against 
mingling Scripture expressions with our own lan¬ 
guage, but quoting as Scriptures what is not such. 
By a mind familiar with the Scripture such a thing 
will be instantly detected, to the distraction of the 
thoughts and the injury of devotion. 

5. A loud , confident tone. This reminds us of 
Elijah’s ironical address to the prophets of Baal: 
“ Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is talking, 
or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or perad- 
venture he sleepeth, and must be awaked.” The 
venerable Dr. Lyman Beecher says: “ Whenever 
the humble boldness, the brokenness of heart, the 
prostration of spirit in the dust are gone; the ten¬ 
der inimitable pathos of the soul evaporated; and 
the still small voice of simple, unaflected importu¬ 
nity, exchanged for loud, confident, unhumbled 
supplication, we may soon witness the gradual 
suspension of divine influence.” This was the 
result of his observation, in a long experience in 
revivals. 


IRREVERENCE IN TRAYER. 


227 


6. Forced excitement . This hardly expresses my 
idea. But men sometimes work themselves up into 
a frenzy, catching the breath, and laboring in a 
kind of physical agony, painful to others and ex¬ 
hausting to themselves. Paul would say to them, 
“ Bodily exercise profiteth little.” 

7. Want of Reverence. An undue familiarity, 
or addressing God in tones or in a manner which 
indicates the want of a proper sense of his glorious 
majesty and infinite holiness, and of our own insig¬ 
nificance and unworthiness, not only shocks the 
sensibilities of humble Christians, but it must be 
offensive to Him, “ who is greatly to be feared in 
the assembly of his saints, and had in reverence of 
all them that are about him.” Reverence and awe 
are in perfect consistency with the true “ spirit of 
adoption.” 


CONDUCTING PP.AYER-MEETINGS. 

Who shall take the lead of the Prayer-Meet¬ 
ing ? This is an important question, and one that 
will be answered variously, from different stand¬ 
points. One strongly attached to a pastor, and 
ready to watch his lips as an oracle, will always 


228 


CONDUCTING FRAYER-MEETINGS. 


wish to see him in the chair. This feeling is right. 
And, if the pastor is a man of tact , as well as of 
ability, it is probable that, taking into view only 
the simple matter of edification, it might be best 
for him always to be there. The practice in many 
churches is, for the pastor always to preside when 
he is present, and in his absence, the senior elder 
or deacon. In other churches, the chair is occu¬ 
pied by the official members in rotation. And in 
some, it passes in turn, to all who take part in the 
services. There are some advantages in each of 
these practices. The pastor ought to be, and I 
suppose generally is, better qualified to lead the 
meeting to edification than any other person. But 
what is lacking in ability and use, may be made up 
in variety. And there is an object to be gained 
by letting this duty pass round among all the 
brethren, even greater than simply that of edifica¬ 
tion. This meeting should be regarded partly in 
the light of a training school , to prepare the sol¬ 
dier of the cross for effective action, in their as¬ 
saults on the kingdom of darkness. This is of in¬ 
calculable importance. Where there is so much 
need of lay effort as there is in our cities, and in 


TRAINING THE SOCIETY. 22 () 

many parts of the country, no means should be 
spared to bring out and develop all the talent 
there is in the churches. In a population so mi¬ 
gratory as ours, no one can tell how soon he may 
be thrown into circumstances where he will be 
called upon to take the lead in organizing society. 
And, if this should not happen, there is scarcely a 
locality, even in the older parts of the country, 
where a missionary field may not be found by one 
who “ has a mind to work.” In our arrangements, 
I think this point is too generally overlooked. 
We are accustomed to look too much to our own 
edification, and to antiquated ideas of official posi¬ 
tion and “ order,” so as to forget the training of a 
church to labor in the Master’s vineyard. But, 
where all the talent in a church is brought out in 
the prayer-meetings; even though there be some 
crudities, the defect is more than counterbalanced 
by the increased life and spirit infused into the 
meeting. Official gravity and order often settle 
down like nightmare upon a meeting; everything 
is spell-bound; and the very atmosphere seems 
enchanted. It is better to be disturbed by a slight 
indiscretion than by the snore of the sleeper. Even 
20 


230 LEADER PREVIOUSLY DESIGNATED. 

a little excitement will do no harm. A thunder 
shower is better than a dead calm. There was no 
rain in paradise, but there went up a gentle mist 
to water the earth. That was better than thunder 
showers and storms; but we are not in paradise. 
We must, in our fallen state, take God’s blessings 
as he sends them, whether in the gentle dew, the 
copious shower, or the driving tempest. And no 
more can we prescribe the form in which he shall 
send us spiritual blessings. Let us be thankful for 
them, in whatever form they come. Nothing is to 
be dreaded so much as the desolating drought, the 
powdered dust, the fallow ground, the desert land. 

But whatever plan is adopted for conducting the 
meeting, the leader should be previously designated, 
that he may make due preparation. He should 
have his hymns and portion of Scripture selected 
beforehand, that no delay may occur in the meet¬ 
ing. He should study the portion of Scripture, and 
get his mind filled with stirring thoughts. But let 
him not undertake to make a discourse. The most 
that he should attempt to say is, to throw out 
suggestions and start trains of thought for the 
brethren to follow up. He should aim at unity of 


TACT IN THE LEADER. 


231 


impression. Therefore, his hymns and Scripture 
and remarks should, if possible, tend to some point. 
And all these services should be short. A lone: 
hymn: a whole chapter, containing several differ¬ 
ent subjects; and a long, prosy address, to begin 
with, will spoil any meeting. The leader should 
feel that his place is not himself to occupy the 
time, but to call out and direct others. It is the 
practice in some meetings to have no person take 
part except as he is called upon by the leader; in 
others, for the meeting to be thrown open to all, 
and none called upon. Neither of these, exclusively 
followed, works well. If none take part except 
-when called upon, a stiff formality is thrown over 
the meeting. On the other hand, where none are 
called upon, we are subject to long and painful 
pauses; or, the meeting may pass entirely out of 
the control of the leader, and disorder ensue. 
Both should be combined. The leader should be 
quick to discern and prompt to act. Much of the 
life and spirit of the meeting depend upon him. 
Having opened the meeting, he may give liberty 
to all to speak or pray; but he must be ready, if 
none embrace the opportunity, to call on some one 


232 


ROUTINE TO BE AVOIDED. 


to pray or speak; or he may give out a hymn. 
But it is by no means essential to the profitable¬ 
ness of a meeting that there should be any speak¬ 
ing at all. It is better to speak to God than to 
man. And by prompt action, he may prevent the 
impression of dulness, which fastens on the minds 
of the people when there is a backwardness in 
speaking. The person who leads the singing, or 
others who can sing, may do much towards making 
a meeting lively and spirited, by striking up a 
verse or portion of a hymn voluntarily, which re¬ 
lieves the formality and monotony of a meeting. 
The young people ought to be encouraged to com¬ 
mit to memory the hymns most frequently sung, 
and to learn the tunes so thoroughly, as to be able 
to sing both hymn and tune without book. The 
tendency to routine is so great that I would never 
pursue a prescribed course, but vary it as much as 
possible on every occasion. This may the more 
easily be done, where there are different £>ersons 
to lead. If a leader has tact, it is easy to control 
a meeting, where the feeling is deep, and prevent 
its running into disorder. But it is hard to wake 
up dulness and stupidity. 


HINTS ON PRAYER. 


233 


It often happens that there are two or three con¬ 
ceited persons "who are disposed to take part in 
every meeting and to consume the time in “un¬ 
profitable talk.” They soon become unacceptable 
to the people and give the meeting an unpleasant 
savor. And yet they are the last to perceive it. 
They ought to be kindly admonished in private; 
but if this fails, the leader of the meeting should 
interpose, and at least prevent their occupying an 
undue portion of the time. If allowed to have 
full scope, they will drive the people away. 

HINTS TO THOSE WHO LEAD IN PRAYER. 

1. Preparation. If you were going before an 
earthly governor, to beg for your own life or that 
of a friend, and he were the only person that had 
power to pardon the criminal condemned to death, 
could you help thinking, with intense anxiety, 
about the object of your petition? Would it not 
be the absorbing subject of your thoughts ? With 
what consistency, then, can you come before the 
Creator and Governor of the universe, to ask for 
the life of your immortal soul or to intercede for 
that of a fellow-being guilty of high treason 
20 * 


234 


A WARM HEART NEEDFUL. 


against his government and justly condemned to 
eternal misery, without first thinking, with deep 
and trembling anxiety, about the object of your 
petition ? But when you go to a prayer-meeting, 
you must not only be prepared to approach God, 
but also to unite with others in petitions before his 
throne. Yet many people lose sight, altogether, 
of this obligation, and go to a prayer-meeting 
simply to get their own feelings stirred, and their 
own hearts warmed; and if they fail in this, they 
complain of the meeting as cold and dull. But the 
closet is the place to get the heart warm. You, 
my brother, have no more right to go to the meet¬ 
ing with a cold heart than I have. It is your duty, 
as much as it is that of any other person, to go 
there with a warm heart, carrying with you objects 
of petition which press upon your own soul, and 
contribute your share to the edification of the 
meeting. And you, my sister, are under equal 
obligation to carry with you a spirit of prayer, 
that your desires may be offered up in unison with 
the congregation, and help to swell the petition 
that goes before the Majesty on high. If all 
would seek preparation in the closet, by prayer 


UNITY OF FEELING ESSENTIAL. 235 

and meditation, and go to the meeting with warm 
hearts, there could not fail of being a running 
together, a unity of feeling, that would glow and 
burn and kindle into a flame. But when one 
comes to a prayer-meeting with a .cold heart, and 
is called upon to pray, he does not lead the devo¬ 
tions of others. He has no errand but his own to 
the throne of grace. He does not feel in unison 
■with his brethren. He feels intensely on no point. 
He wanders over the world; embraces a multitude 
of objects, entirely foreign to the particular one 
for which special prayer is to be made; prolongs 
the exercise to a tedious length; introduces vain 
repetitions in reference to almost every object em¬ 
braced in his petition, amplifying upon every idea, 
expressing it in several different forms of speech. 
Then, perhaps, he begins to feel a little warmed, 
and returns and goes over the same ground a 
second time. In this way he chills the feelings of 
others, and diverts their attention also from the 
special object for which they are assembled. There 
are “ dead flies ” enough in such a prayer to spoil 
the savor of the whole meeting. 

2. Constant attendance upon the prayer meeting 


236 CONSTANT ATTENDANCE DESIRABLE. 

is necessary to promote unity of feeling. When a 
brother has been several times absent he will gen¬ 
erally have lost something of his interest. His 
feeling is not up to the standard which prevails in 
the meeting. If he leads in prayer, he does not 
lead the feelings of others. There is something 
special in the spirit of prayer exercised by a church 
agonizing for the conversion of souls. But it is 
seldom that the great body of the church enter 
fully into this with spirit. It is chiefly confined to 
a “ little band.” When they come together, bur¬ 
dened and “ pressed in spirit,” and the prayers are 
chiefly offered up by persons who are not awake to 
the feelings that pervade their bosoms, the true 
state of feeling is not represented in the prayers. 
A chill is cast over the assembly. Those who were 
longing for the outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit, 
not meeting with a fellowship of feeling, are grieved 
and wounded ; and perhaps their faith is weakened, 
and they go away discouraged. Great responsi¬ 
bility rests upon those who direct the exercises on 
such occasions. The failure of one prayer-meeting 
at such a time may be attended with disastrous 
results. 


EXAMPLES OF PLAYER. 


237 


3. Study the Scriptural examples of Prayer . 
The first one we meet with is that of Abraham 
interceding for Lot. The characteristics of this 
prayer are, benevolent regard for others, and per¬ 
severing importunity. The next is that of Abra¬ 
ham’s servant; 1 it is short, simple, fervent, direct; 
asking without any circumlocution for the .thing 
which he desired. The prayer of Moses in Ex. 32: 
31, shows deep feeling and self-annihilation; but 
it is contained in a very few words. The next 2 is 
a little longer, and expressive of a desire for the 
presence of the Lord, so intense as to swallow up 
every other desire. When his sister was stricken 
with leprosy, the language of his prayer was as 
simple and direct as it could be: “ Heal her now, 
O Lord, I beseech thee.” In Numbers, 14: 13-19, 
when the Lord had threatened to smite his people 
with pestilence and disinherit them, Moses offered 
a prayer, which is a perfect specimen of pleading. 
He enters into a concise, direct, and forcible ar¬ 
gument, to show that the heathen would exult, 
and say that God was not able to deliver his 
people ; and then he appeals, with inimitable 
1 Gen. 24: 12-14. 2 Exodus 33: 13, 15, 16. 


238 PRAYERS OF JOSHUA AND HEZEKIAH. 

pathos, to the character of God, as long-suffer¬ 
ing and merciful, to forgive them. The prayer 
of Joshua, after Israel had turned their backs 
upon their enemies, expresses intense feeling, but 
his regard for the glory of God was the great 
burden of his soul. After briefly rehearsing the 
evils that had befallen them, and the exultations 
of the heathen, he concludes, “And what wilt 
thou do unto thy great name ? ” 1 He was more 
concerned for the glory of God than for the dis¬ 
asters which had befallen the people. And the 
intense agony of his spirit found vent in a very 
few words. The prayer of Hezekiah, 2 on the 
occasion of the blasphemous message of the king 
of Assyria, begins with an acknowledgment of 
the Lord as the only true God, and an hum¬ 
ble request that his petition might be heard. 
He then briefly reviews his case, and concludes 
with a direct and simple petition for deliver¬ 
ance. It was an emergency on which his king¬ 
dom was at stake; and the prayer is complete, 
covering the whole ground. Yet it would not 
occupy two minutes in the delivery. Again, 
i Josh. 7: 7-9. 2 g Kings 19: 15-19. 


SHORT PRAYERS. 


239 


when the prophet informed him that he must 
die, his prayer was still more brief: “I beseech 
thee, O Lord, remember now how I have walked 
before thee in truth, and with a perfect heart, 
and have done that which is good in thy sight.” 
And then he turned away and wept. Yet this 
prayer was heard, and fifteen years were added to 
his life. The prayer of Nehemiah, 1 on going in be¬ 
fore the king, to ask deliverance for his people, 
contains an acknowledgment of God; confession 
of sin; a recital of God’s promise; and a peti¬ 
tion for the object desired, all in a simple, hum¬ 
ble, fervent spirit, without circumlocution or rep¬ 
etition. It was less than two minutes in length. 
The jwayer of Ezra 2 is a little longer, but it is 
occupied in confession of sin, the enumeration of 
which required time. Eveh the prayer of Sol¬ 
omon, on the extraordinary occasion of the dedi¬ 
cation of the temple, could not have occupied 
over five minutes. 3 The penitential prayer of 
David, in the fifty-first Psalm, is a perfect model 
of the outgushing of a broken heart. But it is 
not more than two or three minutes in length, 
i Neh. 1:5. 2 Ezra 9: 5-15. 3 1 Ki. 8: 22. 


240 


PRAYER OF CHRIST. 


The prayer of Daniel 1 contains an acknowledg¬ 
ment of God, adoration of his attributes, parti¬ 
cular confession of sin for himself and his people, 
and fervent petition for pardon and deliverance; 
yet it is not over five minutes long. It was 
answered while he was yet speaking. I have read 
severe criticisms on the frequent use of the ex¬ 
pressions, “ O Lord,” and “ O God; ” but they oc¬ 
cur eleven times in this prayer, five times in 
the fifty-first Psalm, and frequently in other pray¬ 
ers recorded in Scripture. They are a natural 
expression of fervent devotion and confidence 
of God ; though they may be repeated so often 
as to offend the ear. 

The wonderful prayer of Christ, Jn. ch. 17, with 
his disciples, before his crucifixion, which embraced 
all the interests of Ins church to the end of time, 
would not exceed five minutes in length. It is 
direct, specific, fervent, and full of devout feel¬ 
ing. The prayer of the apostles, before filling 
the vacancy in their number occasioned by the 
treachery of Judas, was brief, pertinent, and em¬ 
bracing the single point that was before them, 


1 Daniel 9: 4-19. 


PRAYERS IN SCRIPTURE SPECIFIC. 


241 


and nothing else. And that prayer, on which 
the place where they were assembled was shaken, 
was not two minutes in length. It invokes God 
as the Creator and supreme Governor of the uni¬ 
verse, recounts the rage and persecution of the 
Jews, and implores God to grant them boldness, 
by attesting the truths they uttered by miraculous 
powers. But above all, the “ Lord’s Prayer,” de¬ 
signed as the pattern and model of all prayer, 
is distinguished for its brevity and comprehen¬ 
siveness. 

The prayers recorded in Scripture may be only 
a summary of what was said by the speakers; 
yet, admitting this, we shall still find them char¬ 
acterized by brevity, simplicity of language, di¬ 
rectness, and unity of object. They are specific, 
rather than general; and instead of having the 
appearance of being made up for the occasion, 
they are made by the occasion, being the simple 
expression of pious feeling in the circumstances 
in which their authors were placed. 

4. It is Scriptural to agree together to pray for 
specific objects . But when there is such an agree- 


21 


242 


LONG PRAYERS. 


ment, the brother who wanders in his prayer to 
other objects, does not lead the devotions of the 
assembly, and therefore hinders the object of the 
meeting. 

5. Long prayers . Long prayers are apt to be 
pointless and dull. They distract the associated 
worshippers with divers impressions, and prevent 
the concentration of feeling and desire upon the 
special object agreed upon. They injure the whole 
effect of a meeting, by preventing that agreeable 
variety produced by the fellowship of different 
minds. The expressions of one or two are not so 
likely to touch the affections of all, as when a 
greater number are engaged. 

6. Remember your prayers. Be not like the 
man who, “beholding his face in a glass, goeth 
away and straightway forgetteth what manner of 
man he was.” Do what in you lies to secure the 
answer to your own prayers, by cooperating with 
God in his work of grace in your own heart, and 
upon the hearts of others. Let your prayers, your 
alms, and your obedience, go up before God to¬ 
gether. 


1 Mat. 18: 19, 20. 


BURNING FROM THE HEART. 


243 


EXHORTATION'S. 

Long exhortations are entirely out of place in a 
prayer-meeting. The object is to pray rather than 
to talk or to learn. It is very proper, however, 
that soul-stirring appeals should be made, and that 
such truths as have a direct bearing upon the cir¬ 
cumstances should be announced. But this should 
be done in a brief and jiungent manner. An ex¬ 
hortation or a remark should come from a full 
heart, and be directly to the point. And when an 
idea is expressed, it should generally be left with¬ 
out enlargement. Let it come burning from the 
heart, to wake up thought and feeling in other 
hearts. But if diluted and spun out, so as to leave 
nothing for the mind of the hearer to do in digest¬ 
ing and applying it, the object may be lost. 

It is rarely admissible to introduce personal ex¬ 
perience into a public promiscuous prayer-meet¬ 
ing. It savors so much of self-complacency that 
it is dangerous to the person who does it, and not 
often edifying to others. But a person may ex¬ 
press his feelings without any direct allusion to 
himself, in a way that will be deeply impressive. 
The truths that he has experienced, and which 


244 


NO GOOD FROM SCOLDING. 


press upon his heart, may be so announced that 
every one will feel it to be a personal testimony. 
It is proper and suitable also for one to express 
his feelings in view of present circumstances, and 
of the special objects of prayer proposed. And if 
Christians are conscious of having so lived as to 
dishonor Christ and hinder his work, confessions 
are in place. 

But a public meeting is no place for a Christian 
to rebuke his brethren. If he has aught against 
any he should speak to them alone — “between 
thee and him alone ” Christ says. A fault-finding 
spirit will soon destroy the savor of a prayer-meet¬ 
ing. I never knew any good come from scolding . 
I have known brethren scold the empty seats, in a 
prayer-meeting, till they got out of temper them¬ 
selves, and put others in ill-humor, and were in a 
fair way to empty all the seats. 

It is a general complaint that prayer-meetings 
are not well attended. This will inevitably be 
the case, if they are stereotyped and petrified. 
When a dull and cold formality broods over a 
meeting, no one will go to it, except from a sense 
of duty; and the sense of duty is not strong 


EXAMINE YOUR PRAYERS. 


245 


enough to lead unconverted persons to a meet¬ 
ing where they are not interested. But when a 
prayer-meeting is spirited and lively, as it ought 
always to be, it may become a most powerful 
means of grace to the impenitent. Such it has 
been in the revivals of this year; and of many 
such meetings, it may be said, “ This and that man 
were bom there.’ > 

EXAMINE YOUR PRAYERS. 

When Christians have been praying a long time 
for the conversion of souls and the revival of 
religion, and have not received answers to then- 
prayers, it becomes them to examine and see 
whether they have not been asking amiss. To 
aid them in this, the following hints are given: 

1. Your prayers may be selfish or earthly, with¬ 
out having the glory of God as their paramount 
and ultimate end. 1 

2. If you are indulging sin or neglecting duty, 
the Lord will not hear your prayers. 2 

1 James 4:3. 1 Cor. 10: 31. 

2 Ps. 6: 18. Prov. 28: 9. Isa. 59: 1 , 2. 

21 * 


246 


HINTS. 


3. An unforgiving temper will hinder your 
prayers. 1 

4. You may not have been sufficiently humble. 2 * 

5. You may not have asked in faith? 

6. Your supplications may not have been suffi¬ 
ciently earnest and importunate. 4 

1 Mark 11: 25, 26. Matt. 18: 35. 

2 Ps. 138: 6. Isa. 66: 2. 51: 15. 1 Pet. 5: 6. Jas. 4: 10. 

s Jas. 1: 5-8. Mark 11: 24. 

4 Luke 22: 44. Jas. 5:17. Acts 12: 5. 


CHAPTER IX. 


REVIVALS. 

MAXIMS FOR CHRISTIANS. 

1. It is the duty of every Christian to be grow¬ 
ing in grace , and doing all he can to glorify God. 
And when Christians are in this state, there is a 
revival of religion; and if there are sinners to be 
converted, they will share in it. 1 

2. God hears and answers the prayers of his 
children, when they are in the way of obedience. 2 

3. When Christians pray and labor for the sal¬ 
vation of souls that God may be glorified, sinners 
will be converted. 3 

4. It is the sinful neglect of the church that 
prevents her from enjoying a perpetual revival. 4 

5. When no souls are converted in a congrega- 

iRom. 13: 11. IThess. 5: 4—8. Eph. 5: 14. Is. 60: 1. 1 
John 1: 6. Ileb. 3: 15. 2 Cor. 6: 2. 

2 1 John 3: 22. John 15: 7. 3 Mai. 3: 10. 

4 Mai. 3:10. Isa. 66: 8. Rev. 2: 4; 3:15,. 16. 


248 


MAXIMS FOR CHRISTIANS. 


tion, let no one charge the delinquency on the 
church. If he does his own duty God will bless 
him. Let him look at home and say, “Lord is 
it I?” 1 

6. If but two members of a church become truly 
revived themselves, and agree together, and offer 
up the prayer of faith for a revival of religion, they 
may expect that blessing will be granted. 2 

7. Let not God’s people be discouraged because 
their numbers are few. 3 

8. Let not Christians spend their time, and di¬ 
vert their attention, by complaining to one another 
of those who stand back. It is not their business 
to curse them; 4 neither to wait for them; but to 
go forward in the strength of the Lord. There 
are many in the church who seem to be “twice 
dead, and plucked up by the roots.” If you wait 
for them, you will never do anything. 

HINDERANCES TO REVIVALS. 

1. Want of unity of feeling and effort among 
the members of the church, and also between them 

!Mat. 7:1—5. Rom. 2:1. Jas. 4: 11. 2 Mat. 18: 19. 

s Judges 7:7. 1 Sam. 14:1—16. * Rom. 12: 14. 


HINDERANCES TO REVIVALS. 


249 


and tlieir pastor. A revived Christian may enjoy 
a state of feeling which the backslider in heart, 
who has grown carnal and worldly, cannot under¬ 
stand. A very important point in social prayer is, 
that the hearts of all present be united in their 
feelings , desires , and petitions . “Can two walk 
together, except they be agreed?” “ If tico of you 
shall agree on earth, as touching anything that 
they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my 
Father.” Although this promise may have re¬ 
ferred originally to miraculous events, the princi¬ 
ple involved should doubtless be applied to ordi¬ 
nary cases. Before the mighty out-pouring of the 
Spirit on the day of Pentecost, the disciples “ all 
continued with one accord in prayer and supplica¬ 
tion.” The original word' translated with one ac¬ 
cord is compounded of two words, the one signify¬ 
ing like , and the other mind: which shows that 
they must have thought and felt alike} 

2. Indolence and the love of ease , which cannot 
endure the persevering effort necessary to main¬ 
tain such a spirit of prayer as that described in 
Rom. 8:26, and such a system of self-denying ac- 


i Amos 3:3. Mat. 18: 19. Acts 1: 14. 


250 


CENSORIOUSNESS A HINDERANCE. 


tivity as the conversion of souls requires. Our 
rest is in heaven. 1 

3. Censoriousness. The effect of free conversa¬ 
tion about the faults of brethren is, to diminish 
our own brotherly love and esteem for the person 
whose character w T e have been discussing; to give 
employment for tale-bearers; and to stir up hard 
feelings and strife in the church. This, besides 
bringing guilt upon our own souls, w T ill meet 
us in the prayer-meeting, and prevent the neces¬ 
sary union of feeling. Thus, the Spirit will be 
grieved away; for he cannot dwell in a heart 
that is a prey to jealous and bitter feelings. 2 

4. Worldly amusements. I may be censured, 
in this age, for mentioning these as hinderances 
to revivals; since some insist on amusement as a 
duty. But in former times, the attendance of 
Christians upon parties of pleasure, dancing par¬ 
ties, and other worldly amusements, was consid- 
. ered incompatable with a revival of religion. I 
still believe this to be the dictate not of reason 
and Scripture only, but of Christian feeling, which 

1 Psalm 17: 15. 

2 Rom. 1: 29, 30. Psalms 15: 3. Prov. 25 : 23. 2 Cor. 12: 20. 
Tit. 3: 2. Eph. 4: 31. 1 Pet. 2: 1. 


FINDING FAULT WITH PREACHING. 251 

recoils from such, things like the sensitive plant. 
No Christian can return from a scene of worldly 
amusement in a fit condition to “ enter into his 
closet.” And an awakened person who resorts 
to such places does it at the peril of his soul. If 
we cannot serve God and mammon, neither can 
we live in pleasure and serve the Lord, at the 
same time. 1 

5. Finding faidt with preaching. This is es¬ 
pecially injurious to children, when it comes from 
their parents. They will naturally feel more con¬ 
fidence in their parents than their minister; and 
if they get the impression that he is wrong upon 
one point, they will conclude he is wrong in 
everything. This jirejudice, existing in their 
minds, may wholly destroy the effect of preach¬ 
ing. Again, when the sinner’s conscience is 
smarting under the truth, if members of the 
church represent, in their conversation, that the 
preacher lias been too hasty or too harsh, they 
thereby ease his conscience, and sustain him in 
his rebellion against God. Such professors of 
religion often act the part of traitors in the camp 


12 Cor. 6: 14, 17. 


'252 


SECRET SINS, AND UNBELIEF. 


of the living God, by strengthening the hands 
of his enemies in opposing the extension of his 
kingdom. 

6. Neglect of discipline may hinder a revival. 1 

7. Secret sins indulged in the hearts of Chris¬ 
tians, such as spiritual pride, self-seeking, self- 
complacency, envy, etc., may hinder a revival. 2 
God will not countenance such unholy feelings; 
and when they are indulged, the Holy Spirit may 
he expected quickly to depart. 

8. Unbelief This, of all others, is the greatest 
hinderance to revivals. No sin is more dishonor¬ 
ing to God than unbelief. It is discrediting the 
word of the Almighty. We have the most awful 
warnings in his word against indulging it. We 
read of one place where Jesus did not many 
mighty works because of the unbelief of the peo¬ 
ple. If he did not work miracles on account of 
their unbelief, will he revive his work, and convert 
souls, while his people are filled with unbelief? 3 

9. Resting in appearances. This hinders faith. 
God is able to remove all obstacles. A revival 

1 Josh, chap 7. 2 Psalms 66: 18. Prov. 28: 9. 

s Mat. 13: 58. Rom. 11: 20, 21. Ileb. 3: 12. 


resting in appearances. 253 

is the work of the Lord. Keep your eye steadily 
fixed on him, from whom alone help cometh. 
Labor as though the work were entirely your 
own, feel as if it were God’s work alone. If you 
look to appearances, when they are favorable you 
will be elated with the idea that you have ob¬ 
tained the blessing, begin to rejoice, relax your 
efforts, and ere you are aware the Spirit will be 
gone: when they are unfavorable, you will be 
discouraged, give way to unbelief, and so grieve 
the Spirit. It was looking at appearances, and 
forgetting the invisible arm of Jehovah, which 
led to all the rebellion of the children of Israel 
in the wilderness, which j)rovoked God to swear 
in his wrath that they should not enter his rest. 1 

10. Trusting to ministers and the special efforts 
of the church is a hinderance. 2 

11. The impression that a revival cannot long 
continue is a hinderance. This leads Christians 
to think, as soon as they discover any decline 
of feeling, that the work is over. So they relax 

1 Ex. 5: 21; 23: 14: 10-15; 16: 2,3; 17: 1-3. 

2 Jer. 17: 5, 7, 8. Ps. 84: 12. Ps. 34: 8. 2 Cor. 1: 9. Isa. 

50: 10; 26: 4. Prov. 3: 5. Ps. 125: 1. Zech. 4: 6,7. 

22 


254 


DECLINING- GRATITUDE. 


their efforts, and quiet their consciences with the 
idea that it is not the Lord’s will that it should 
continue. But if they would search their own 
hearts, they might find that guilt rests upon their 
souls. They have grieved away the Holy Spirit. 
If, on the first discovery of a decline of feeling, 
they would search out their sin, repent, humble 
themselves before God, and beg the return of the 
Holy Comforter, they might hope to ensure a con¬ 
tinuance of his blessed presence. 1 

12. When the efforts for a revival have been 
crowned with success, “ the declension of that 
strong sense of absolute dependence upon the 
special operations of the Holy Spirit, which 
pressed them down at the beginning,” may grieve 
away the Heavenly Messenger, and stop the 
blessed work. 

13. Declining gratitude. When Christians have 
been laboring and praying for a revival, the first 
few cases of conversion are received with great 
joy, and overwhelming gratitude, as evident 
tokens of the special presence of God’s spirit. 
But when these cases multiply, they come to be 


l Isa. 59: 1, 2. Jer. 5: 25; 3: 12. Mai. 3: 7. Zech. 1: 3. 


MISGUIDED ZEAL. 


255 


viewed and spoken of as ordinary events; while, 
in truth, the cause of gratitude is increased in 
proportion to the number of conversions. May 
not such ingratitude be justly visited with the 
suspension of the special influences of the Holy 
Spirit ? 

14. “ Misguided , intemperate, and censorious 
zeal .” When Christians divert their attention from 
the multitude who are going down to perdition, 
and from the Almighty Arm, which alone can 
save them, and spend their strength in unavail¬ 
ing efforts to bring the whole church to come 
up with them to the work, their revival spirit 
will be likely to degenerate into a spirit of 
“pride, impatience, and petulant rebuke,” result¬ 
ing in contention and strife, with which the Holy 
Spirit cannot dwell. 

15. Christians should be especially careful never 
to be the cause of agitating the public mind dur¬ 
ing a revival, so as to “ break the train of serious 
associations.” A counter excitement may stop 
the blessed work. 

16. The collisions of different denominations 
tend to hinder a revival. When these arise in 


256 SECTARIANISM, POSTPONING- EFFORTS. 

the course of a revival, they seldom fail to arrest 
the progress of the work. Oh, what an awful re¬ 
sponsibility rests upon Christians in regard to 
this matter! How can those who promote these 
unhappy wranglings clear their skirts of the 
blood of murdered souls! 

17. “ The fear that the revival will stop , and 
is about to stop, entertained by one and an¬ 
other, and whispered and propagated,” may be 
the occasion of arresting its progress. 

18. The feeling that the blessing obtained is 
enough to answer for the present; that as much 
time has been devoted to the work as can be 
spared ; and that it may be well to stop and 
rest, and attend to the world, and to return to 
a revival effort again at some future time.” Un¬ 
grateful thought! Yet there is no doubt such 
thoughts often steal into the hearts of Chris¬ 
tians, after having labored for a considerable 
time in a revival. Can it be wondered at, then, 
if the revival should cease ? 

19. The decline of a genuine spirit of prayer in 
the church . This spirit of prayer, which may be 
very properly termed the revival spirit , is thus 


THE REVIVAL SPIRIT DESCRIBED. 


257 


described by an eminent minister of the present 
age: “No man who ever felt it can fail to recog¬ 
nize it, as kindred cords are made to vibrate by 
each other’s motion. It is a deep, constant, un¬ 
utterable desire that God may be glorified in the 
salvation of souls, — it is love to God, — it is com¬ 
passion for man, — it is gratitude,—it is broken¬ 
hearted, child-like desire, flowing from a full foun¬ 
tain, day and night, in ejaculations and protracted 
wrestlings at the throne of grace. In social sup- 
jilication, it is simple, direct, heart-melted, and 
heart-melting, and poured out with tears, and 
sighings, and groanings, which cannot be uttered. 
I bear testimony to the glory of God, and the 
truth of his promises, that I have never known 
him to say to a church in which such a spirit 
of prayer prevailed, ‘ Seek ye me in vain.’ But 
without this spirit of prayer a revival cannot be 
sustained; and when it declines, the glorious 
work must stop. Whenever the ‘humble bold¬ 
ness, the brokenness of heart, the prostration of 
spirit in the dust, are gone; the tender inimita¬ 
ble pathos of the soul evaporated; and the still 
small voice of simple, unaffected importunity ex- 
22 * 


258 CRITICISING REVIVALS ELSEWHERE. 

changed for earnest loud, confident, unhumbled 
supplication,’ we may soon witness the ‘gradual 
suspension of divine influence. ’ ” 1 

20. Finding fault with the work of God in other 
places. There is perhaps nothing which will more 
effectually prevent the outpouring of the Holy 
Spirit upon any people than the indulgence of 
this spirit by the church. What would be the 
consequence, if a farmer should neglect his own 
field, and spend his time in watching for the 
baitings of his neighbor, and finding fault with 
the manner in which he performs his work ? 
It is very likely that his neighbor’s crop might 
be injured by unskilful management; but he 
would have no crop at all. Again, suppose a 
man hears that a dear friend has just arrived in 
town; but, instead of running with open arms 
to meet him, he spends his time in collecting 
scandal from the mouths of busybodies, about 
the extravagant manner in which others have 
received him ; and in talking about it in the 
presence of his family, until they all become sus¬ 
picious that the newly-arrived person is not the 


1 Rev. Dr. Lyman Beecher. 


MARRING GOD’S WORK. 


259 


real friend , but an impostor / suppose when he 
enters their dwelling, instead of meeting with a 
warm and cordial reception, every one shrinks 
from his embrace, — how long, think ye, would 
he remain in that house ? Yet such is some¬ 
times the attitude assumed by churches and in¬ 
dividuals, with reference to the work of God in 
other places. 1 

Let us take home to our consciences this solemn 
truth : Where a revival exists, God’s people may 
be guilty of marring his work; but where a re¬ 
vival does not exist, they are guilty of preventing 
his work altogether . It is the place of the former 
to remove the evils which human weakness has 
mixed with the work of the Lord — of the latter, 
to mourn over their own backslidings; to repent 
and humble themselves before God, till he shall 
return and bless them with the outpouring of his 
Spirit. 

i Edwards’ “ Thoughts on Revivals of Religion.” 


CHAPTEE X. 


CONCLUDING ADDRESS. 

Christian reader! When you consecrated your¬ 
self to Christ, you laid yourself on his altar. You 
presented your body a living , not a dead sacrifice. 
You did not come to Christ merely to get relief 
from the burden of your guilt, to receive comfort, 
and to save your soul. You enlisted under his 
banner, as a soldier of the cross. You have known 
the “ terror of the Lord; ” will you therefore “ per¬ 
suade men?” Doth not the love of Christ con¬ 
strain you; because you thus judge that, “if one 
died for all, then were all dead? Yes; every man, 
woman, and child, that you see out of Christ, is 
“ dead in trespasses and sins.” And to what end 
did he die for all ? “ That they which live should 
not henceforth live unto themselves , but unto him 
which died for them and rose again.” You are 
not your own. You are bought with a price. 


NOT TO LIVE UNTO OURSELVES. 261 

You are not to live unto your self \ but unto him 
who hath purchased you with his own blood. By 
the very act of uniting yourself to Christ, you 
have renounced self, and devoted yourself to him. 
Have you then formed any definite purpose of 
life ? Have you inquired how you may live unto 
him f Perhaps you have felt some fervent de¬ 
sires to do something for him who died for you. 
Perhaps you have replied to these gushing emo¬ 
tions as, like pent up fires, they seek vent in ac¬ 
tion, “ What can I do ? If I were a minister of 
the Gospel, I might do something for the honor of 
Christ. Or, if I could forsake my native land, 
and all that I hold dear to me in this world, and 
go “ far hence to the Gentiles,” then I should have 
some scope for Christian heroism. But what can 
I do, pent up here, in a little insignificant circle ? ” 
But you need not go to India, or to China, or to 
Africa, or the Islands of the Sea, to find heathen. 
They are at your own door. That neighbor of 
yours who lives in the habitual neglect of religion 
— can you not speak to him ? Can you not warn 
him of his danger ? Can you not direct him to 
the same Saviour, who has brought your feet “ out 


262 


DO SOMETHING FOR CHRIST. 


of the horrible pit and the miry clay,” and set 
them on a rock ? Have you not a companion, a 
friend, a brother, a sister, or a child, out of Christ ? 
And can you not speak to them, and pray for 
them, and labor for their conversion? Or do you 
not know, or can you not find some neglected 
child, whose parents have never taught him the 
fear of God, whom you can persuade to enter the 
Sabbath School, and there teach him the word of 
life ? It may be that you can be the means, under 
God, of adding these jewels to the crown that 
adorns the Saviour’s brow. And thus you may 
live unto him. He is building a spiritual temple. 
Can you not lay up some “lively stones” in its 
walls, who shall be to the praise of the glory of his 
grace ? “ The strength of the bearers of burdens 
is decayed, and there is much rubbish; ” neverthe¬ 
less the walls will go up when “ the people have a 
mind to work.” 

This year has been a “ year of the right hand of 
the Most High,” when he has appeared in the 
power of his Holy Spirit to build up Zion. Have 
you participated in the blessing ? Has your soul 
been quickened, and have you received a new 


A SELFISH RELIGION FATAL. 


263 


“unction from the Holy One?” Or have you been 
led by his grace for the first time to consecrate 
yourself to the Lord ? And have you tasted and 
seen that the Lord is gracious ? In this year, the 
Lord has added greatly to the numerical strength 
of the sacramental host. What shall be done, in 
order that this numerical strength may not be 
merely nominal, to swell the numbers, and yet add 
no real strength to the forces of Christ’s kingdom? 
One thing is certain: If those who have been 
quickened from a dead formality, or a death in 
trespasses and sins, in this Revival, shall sit down 
to the enjoyment of a kind of selfish religion that 
expends itself in mere feeling, the churches will 
soon relapse into their former state. The young 
converts will grow cold, and join hands with the 
world. Those who have seemed to be quickened 
and recovered from former backslidings will be¬ 
come luke-warm again and go on as they did 
before. And a deeper and more dreadful slumber 
will settle down upon us. 

But if the new life that we have received con¬ 
tinues, as in the few months past, to go out in 
prayer and effort for the salvation of other souls, 


264 


TWO PARTIES ONLY. 


and thus a vigorous and persevering onset is made 
upon the kingdom of darkness, then will our life 
grow stronger and stronger, our light will burn 
brighter and brighter, and we shall see such won¬ 
ders as we have never yet seen. Then may we 
expect to see some inroads made upon the mass 
of heathenism around us. Let us never forget 
that those who are not with Christ are against 
him. And, from the survey that has been made, 
it appears that the great and overwhelming major¬ 
ity of the people among whom we dwell, are not 
merely the secret and covert enemies of Christ; 
but that they show themselves openly as his ene¬ 
mies, by habitually absenting themselves from the 
rendezvous of his hosts, who gather themselves, in 
their appointed places, on his holy day, to show 
their allegiance to him. And we are mingled with 
this mass, that we might act upon it like leaven. 
If our hearts burn with the love of Jesus, it will 
constrain us to seek, by every means in our power, 
to persuade these enemies of Christ to return to 
their allegiance to him. And such efforts will 
strengthen the new life begun in our souls, and 
furnish new incentives to watchfulness, that no 


KEEP THE FIRE ALIVE-HARLAN PAGE. 265 

inconsistent walk, no wavering inconstancy, no 
striking hands with the world, shall hinder the 
work, or paralyze our efforts. And', in these efforts 
we shall be made so constantly to feel our need of 
Divine aid, that it will drive us to the throne of 
grace, and thus keep the fire alive upon our own 
altars. 

Why may not the blessed impulse this year 
given to the work of God go on and increase, till 
every soul in this land shall be redeemed from sin, 
and the wave here set in motion shall spread out 
over the face of the whole earth — till “ the king¬ 
dom and the greatness of the kingdom under the 
whole heaven shall be given to the people of the 
saints of the most high God ? ” 

What was the secret of the success of Harlan 
Page ? Simply that he had a passion for souls. 
The love of souls was his ruling passion. Let 
every one of the two hundred thousand or 
more converts in this revival possess the same 
passion for the conversion of souls, and I see 
no reason why they may not be as successful 
as he was. And what would be the result ? 
They would be instrumental, during their lives, 
23 


266 


A REMARKABLE BIBLE CLASS. 


of the conversion of twenty millions of souls. 
And let the four and a half millions of professing 
Christians in this land possess the same spirit, and 
exercise it as he did, and they might be the means 
of converting one half the inhabitants of the globe. 
For if they were all animated by this divine pas¬ 
sion as he was, they would not rest satisfied with 
the conversion of this land; but this being done, 
they would speedily sjiread the savor of Christ’s 
name over the whole earth. There are other 
men, as humble-minded and unostentatious as 
Harlan Page, who are accomplishing similar re¬ 
sults. There is one Bible class in Brooklyn, from 
which, under the same teacher, ninety persons 
have been added to the church within a few years. 
Nor is this by any means a solitary case. There 
are other classes in which similar results are con¬ 
tinually realized. Nor is this success owing to 
any extraordinary talent, but to a simple, earnest 
desire and direct effort to convert souls. I do not 
ignore the great fact that the conversion of souls 
is the work of God. But it is not a miraculous 
work. It is a work which he accomplishes through 
the instrumentality of his people, and by his bles- 


world’s conversion practicable. 267 

sing on their labors. And do not forget that God 
has declared his purpose to convert the world 
unto himself, and give to his Son the heathen for 
his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the 
earth for a possession. And now, with God’s prom¬ 
ised blessing, the conversion of the whole world to 
God, during this generation, is practicable. What 
the grace of God accomplished through the instru¬ 
mentality of Harlan Page, it can do by every other 
Christian who will give his heart and soul and life 
to the work as he did. And, supposing there are 
but ten millions of true Christians in the world, 
ten millions multiplied by one hundred, makes a 
thousand millions, the population of the whole 
world. But this leaves out of the account what 
might be done by those who should be converted 
by these ten millions. 

But leaving arithmetic aside, how many profes¬ 
sing Christians there are who have never in their 
lives been the means of converting one soul. Yet 
we have no account, in the whole history of the 
church, of any Christian, male or female, young or 
old, who earnestly set himself or herself to work 
with the full purpose, but in dependence upon 


268 


INSTANCES OF SUCCESS. 


God, to lead souls to Christ, without meeting with 
success. These things are constantly occurring 
around us. In one of our missions, a young 
woman was converted in an irreligious family; 
and her influence has been working there like 
leaven, till eight others have been brought to 
Christ in that family. Two or three years ago, a 
boy was converted in one of our mission schools, 
and he immediately set about the conversion of 
his companions. God blessed his efforts, and many 
of them have been brought into the fold of the 
Good Shepherd. And this needs only to become 
general, to lead to similar results. Let every one 
that is converted feel that he is a recruiting officer 
for the army of the Lord of Hosts, and soon we 
shall see such an onset upon the kingdom of dark¬ 
ness, as will shake its foundations from the centre 
to the circumference. We are planted in the 
vineyard of the Lord, that we may bear fruit to 
the glory of God. “ Herein is my Father glorified 
that ye bear much fruit.” And we have the prom¬ 
ise that “ he that goeth forth and weepeth, bear¬ 
ing precious seed, shall doubtless return again with 
rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Though 


THE LABORER’S REWARD. 


269 


we owe our own selves to the Lord, yet he does 
not require us to labor in this service without 
reward. There is no joy like that of welcoming 
new-born souls to the family of the redeemed. It 
is akin to that which swells the harmony of heaven 
as they strike their harps with notes of joy over 
one sinner that repenteth. Nor does his joy end 
here. He shall be permitted to rejoice over that 
soul, when he shall behold it, clad in garments of 
righteousness, shining in glory. “He that con- 
verteth a sinner from the error of his ways, shall 
save a soul from death, and hide a multitude of 
sins.” And their works shall follow them. “They 
that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the 
firmament; and they that turn many to righteous¬ 
ness as the stars for ever and ever.” And how 
many we may greet there as our spiritual children, 
who can tell ? for the soul that we are instrumen¬ 
tal in bringing to Christ may be the means of con¬ 
verting a hundred others, and these in like man¬ 
ner, and thus go on accumulating in geometrical 
progression to the end of time! With such mo¬ 
tives before us, who can be idle? But, if there 

« 

were no such reward, can you look back upon 
23 * 


270 


UNION WITH CnRIST. 


your own condition, as you saw it before you found 
deliverance in Christ, and not yearn over those 
who are in a like condition? If you are truly 
united to Christ, you will sympathize with his 
spirit. To promote the glory of God in the salva¬ 
tion of souls was the great object of his mission 
and of his passion. He loved the souls of men 
with an intense, unchangeable love, that led him 
to encounter the most amazing sufferings for their 
salvation. The apostle says, “He that is joined 
to the Lord is one spirit.” There is a union of 
spirit between him and Christ. Zeal for the glory 
of God and the salvation of souls will then be his 
ruling passion. For this he suffered. For this he 
died. For this he was glorified. And if we suf¬ 
fer with him, we shall also be glorified together. 
Kind reader, may you and I meet our Lord, with 
the glorified ones, whom we have brought to him; 
and we will rejoice together in those mansions of 
bliss which the Father has prepared for them that 
love him. 


THE END. 


VALUABLE WORKS 

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WORKS POR BIBLE STUDENTS 


A TREATISE ON BIBLICAL CRITICISMS ; Exhibitin'; 

a Systematic View of that Science. By Samuel Davieson, D. D., of 
the University of Halle, Author of “ Ecclesiastical Polity,” “ Introduction 
to the New Testament,” etc. A new Revised and Enlarged Edition, in 
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HISTORY OF PALESTINE, from the Patriarchal Age to 

♦ the Present Time ; with Introductory Chapters on the Geography and 
Natural History of the Country, and on the Customs and Institutions of 
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C3- In the numerous notices and reviews the work has been strongly recommend¬ 
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work, than the former large and expensive edition. — Puritan Recor der. 


I 



IMPORTANT WORK 


KITTO’S POPULAR CYCLOPAEDIA OF BIBLICAL 

LITERATURE. Condensed from the larger work. By the Author, 
John Kitto, D. D., Author of “Scripture Daily Readings,” &c. As¬ 
sisted by JAMES Taylor, D. D. With over 500 Illustrations . 3,00. 

This work is designed to furnish a Dictionary of the Bible, embodying the 
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A condensed view of the various topics comprehended in the work . 

1. Biblical Criticism, — Embracing the History of the Bible Languages; Can¬ 
on of Scripture; Literary History and Peculiarities of the Sacred Books ; Formation 
and History cf Scripture Texts. 

2. History, — Proper Names of Persons; Biographical Sketches of prominent 
Characters; Detailed Accounts of important Events recorded in Scripture; Chronol¬ 
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3. Geography, — Names of Places ; Description of Scenery ; Boundaries and Mu¬ 
tual Relations of the Countries mentioned in Scripture, so far as necessary to illus¬ 
trate the Sacred Text. 

4. Archaeology, —Manners and Customs of the Jews and other nations men¬ 
tioned in Scripture; their Sacred Institutions, Military Affairs, Political Arrange¬ 
ments, Literary and Scientific Pursuits. 

& Physical Science,— Scripture Cosmogony and Astronomy, Zoology, Min¬ 
eralogy, Botany, Meteorology. 

In addition to numerous flattering notices and reviews, personal letters from 
large number of the most distinguished Ministers and Laymen of different religious de¬ 
nominations in the country have been received, highly commending this work as ad^ 
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Bible students. 

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^rho arc engaged in the important business of biblical education. It is in itself a li¬ 
brary of reliable information.” 

W. B. Sprague, D. D., Albany; J. J. Cawuthers, D. D., Portland; Joel Hawes, 
I). D., Hartford, Ct.; Daniel Sharp, D. D., Boston; N. L. Frothingham, D. D., Bos¬ 
ton; Ephraim Peabody, D. D., Boston ; A. L. Stone, Boston ; John S. Stone, D. D., 
Brooklyn ; J. B. Waterbury, D. D., Boston ; Baron Stow, D. D., Boston; Thomas II. 
Skinner, D. D., New York; Samuel W. Worcester, D. D., Salem; Horace Bushncll, 
X). D., Hartford, Ct.; Right Reverend J. M. Wainwright, D. D., New Y"ork ; Gardner 
Spring, D. D., New York ; W. T. Dwight, D. D., Portland; E. N. Kirk, Boston; Prof. 
George Bush, author of “ Notes on the Scriptures,” New Y'ork; Howard Malcom, 
D. D., author of “ Bible DictionaryHenry J. Ripley, D. D., author of “ Notes on 
the Scriptures;” N. Porter, Prof, in Yale College, New Haven, Ct.; Jared Sparks, 
Edward Everett. Theodore Frelingliuysen, Robert C. Winthrop, John McLean, Si¬ 
mon Greenleaf, Thomas S. Williams, — and a large number of others of like char¬ 
acter ant’ cf the above, whose names cannot here appear. H 



IMPORTANT WORKS. 

ANALYTICAL CONCORDANCE OF THE HOLY 
SCRIPTURES; or, The Bible presented under Distinct and Classi¬ 
fied Heads or Topics. By John Eadie, D. D., LL. D., Author of 
the “Biblical Cyclopaedia,” “Dictionary of the Bible,” &c., &c. 

. One volume, royal octavo, 836 pp. Cloth, $3.00 ; sheep, $3.50. Just 
published. 

The publishers would call the special attention of clergymen to the peculiar 
features of this great work. 

1. It is a concordance of subjects y not of words. In this it differs from the com¬ 
mon concordance, which, of course, it does not supersede. 

2. It embraces all the topics, both secular and religious, which are naturally 
suggested by the entire contents of the Bible. In this it differs from Scripture 
Manuals and Topical Text-books, which are confined to religious or doctrinal topics. 

3. It contains the whole of the Bible without abridgment , differing in no respect 
from the Bible in common use, except in the classification of its contents. 

4. It contains a synopsis, separate from the concordance, presenting within the 
compass of a few pages a bird’s-eye view of the whole contents. 

5. It contains a table of contents, embracing nearly two thousand heads, arranged 
in alphabetical order. 

The purchaser gets not only a Concordance , but also a Bible, in this volume. The 
superior convenience arising out of this fact, — saving, as it does, the necessity of 
having two books at hand and of making two references, instead of one, — will be 
readily apparent 

The general subjects (under each of which there are a vast number of sub-divi¬ 
sions) are arranged as follows, viz. : 

Agriculture,—Animals,—Architecture,— Army,—Arms,—Body,—Canaan,—Cove¬ 
nant,—Diet and Dress,—Disease and Death,—Earth,—Family,—Genealogy,—God, 
Heaven,—Idolatry, Idols,—Jesus Christ,—Jews,—Laws,—Magistrates,—Man,—Mar¬ 
riage,—Metals and Minerals,—Ministers of Religion,— Miracles,—Occupations,— 
Ordinances,—Parables andEmblems,—Persecution,—Praise and Prayer,—Prophecy, 
Providence,—Redemption,— Sabbaths and Holy Days,—Sacrifice,—Scriptures,— 
Speech,—Spirits,—Tabernacle and Temple,—Vineyard and Orchard,—Visions and 
Dreams,—War,—Water. 

It is adopted not only to assist the student in prosecuting the investigation of 
preconceived ideas, but also to impart ideas which the most careful reading of the 
Bible in its ordinary arrangement might not suggest. Let him take up any one of 
the subjects — “ Agriculture,” for example — and see if such be not the case. 

No Biblical student would willingly dispense with this Concordance v hen once 
possessed. It is adapted to the necessities of all classes,—clergymen and theo¬ 
logical students; Sabbath-school superintendents and teachers; authors engaged 
in the composition of religious and even secular works. 

A COMMENTARY ON THE ORIGINAL TEXT OF 
THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. By Horatio B. Ilackett. D. IX, 
Prof, of Biblical Lit. and Interpretation, Newton Theological Ins. 
B^New, revised, and enlarged edition. In Press , 

©3P* This most important and very popular work, has been throughly revised 
and considerably enlarged by the introduction of important new matter, the result 
of the Author’s continued, laborious investigations since the publication of the first 
edition, aided by the more recent published critcisms of other distinguished Bibli¬ 
cal Scholars, in this country and in Europe. <y) 


MODERN ATHEISM. 

Under its Forms of Pantheism, Materialism, Secularism, Deve¬ 
lopment, ancl Natural Laws. By James Buchanan, D.D., LL.D. 
12mo, cloth, $1.25. 

The Author of this work is the successor of Dr. Chalmers in the Chair of! 
Divinity in the New College, Edinburgh, and the intellectual leader of the Scottish 
Free Church. 

Hugh Miller, Author of “Old Red Sandstone/ ” &c., &c.—The work 
is one of the most readable and solid which we have ever perused. 

The “News of the Churches.”— It is a work of which nothing less can be 
said, than that, both in spirit and substance, style and argument, it fixes irrever¬ 
sibly the name of the author as a leading classic in the Christian literature of Britain. 

Howard Malcom, D. D., President of Lewisburg University. — I have 
found no work so helpful to me as this as a teacher of metaphysics and morals. I 
know of nothing which will answer for a substitute. The public specially need 
such a book at this time when atheism is being spread abroad with all earnest¬ 
ness, supported, at least in some places, both by church influence and university 
honors. I cannot but hope that a work so timely, scholarly, and complete, will do 
much good. 

One of the most scholarly and profound productions of modern Christian litera¬ 
ture.— Worcester Transcript. 

Dr. Buchanan has earned a high and well-deserved reputation as a classical writer 
and close logical reasoner. He deals heavy, deadly blows on atheism in all its 
various forms. — Christian Secretary. 

His analyses of the doctrines held by the various schools of modern atheism 
arc admirable, and his criticism original and profound. It is an attractive as well 
as a solid book ; and he who peruses a few of its pages is, as it were, irresistibly 
drawn on to a thorough reading of the book.— Boston Portfolio. 

The style is very felicitous, and the reasoning clear and cogent. The opposing 
theories are fairly stated and combated with remarkable ease and skill. Even 
when the argument falls within the range of science, it is so happily stated that 
no intelligent reader can fail to understand it.— Boston Journal. 

It is justly described as “ a great argument,” “ magnificent in its strength, order, 
and beauty,” in a defence of truth and against the variant theories of atheism. 
It reviews the doctrines of the different schools of modern Atheism, gives a fair 
statement of their theories, answers and refutes them, never evading, but meeting 
and crushing their arguments. — Fhila. Christian Observer. 

Dr. Buchanan is candid and impartial, evades no argument, undertakes no oppos¬ 
ing view, but meets his antagonists with the quiet and unswerving confidence of a 
locomotive on iron tracks, pretty sure to crush them. — Christian Register. 

We hail this production of a mastermind as a lucid, vigorous, discriminating, 
and satisfactory refutation of the various false philosophies which have appeared in 
modern times to allure ingenuous youth to their destruction. His refutation is a 
clear stream of light from beginning to end. — Piiila. Presbyterian 

We recommend “Modern Atheism” as a book for the times, and as having 
special claims on theological students. — Universalist Quarterly. 

It is remarkable for the clearness with which it apprehends and the fairness 
with which it states, not less than for the ability with which it replies to, the schemes 
of unbelief in its various modern forms. It clears away, one by one, the mists which 
the Devil has conjured around the great doctrines of our Faith, by the help of 
some of his ingenious modern coadjutors, and leaves the truth of God standing in 
its serene and pristine majesty— Congregationalist. 

The work is a masterly defence of faith against dogmatic unbelief on the one 
hand, and that universal skepticism on the other. — N. Y. Christian Chronicle. 

(v) 


NEW WORKS 


THE BETTER LAND; or, The Believer’s Journey and 
Future Home. By Rev. A. C. Thompson. 12mo, cloth. 85 cents. 

Contents. — The Pilgrimage; Clusters of Escliol; Way marks ; Glimpses of the 
Land ; The Passage ; The Recognition of Friends ; The Heavenly Banquet; Chil¬ 
dren in Heaven ; Society of Angels ; Society of the Saviour ; Heavenly Honor and 
Riches ; No Tears in Heaven ; Holiness of Ileaven ; Activity in Heaven ; Resurrec¬ 
tion Body ; Perpetuity of Bliss in Heaven. 

A most charming and instructive book for all now journeying to the “ Better Land.” 

THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST; or, Christianity VIEWED IN 
its Leading Aspects. By the Rev. A. L. R. Foote, author of 
“ Incidents in the Life of our Saviour,” etc. lGmo, cloth. 50 cts. 

“ It is one of the few books that we feel free to recommend.” — Metii. Protestant. 
“The author presents Christianity, in its various aspects, with skill and power.” — 
Presbyterian. 

“ Christians of all names will read it with deep interest.”— Christ. Chronicle. 

“ It shows throughout a discriminating and thoroughly disciplined mind.” — Puri¬ 
tan Recorder. 

MY MOTHER; or, Recollections or Maternal Influence. 
By a New England Clergyman. 12mo, cloth. 75 cents. 

This is a new and enlarged edition of a work that was first published in 1S49. It 
passed rapidly through three editions, when the sale was arrested by the embarrass¬ 
ment of the publisher. The author has now revised it, and added another chapter, 

bo that it comes before the public with the essential claims of a new work. 

It is the picture of a quiet New England Family, so drawn and colored as to subserve 
the ends of domestic education .Tho author has already distin¬ 

guished himself in various walks of literature ; but from motives of delicacy towards 
the still surviving characters of the book, he chooses for the present to conceal his 
name.A writer of wide celebrity says of the book, in a note to the pub¬ 

lisher— “ It is one of those rare pictures, painted from life, with the exquisite skill of 
one of the old masters, which so seldom present themselves to the amateur.” 

MEMORIES OF A GRANDMOTHER. By a Lady of 
Massachusetts. 16mo, cloth. 50 cents. 

“ My path lies in a valley which I have sought to adorn with flowers. Shadows 
from the hills cover it, but I make my own sunshine.” 

“ The little volume is gracefully and beautifully written.” — Journal, 

“Not unworthy the genius of a Dickens.”— Transcript. 

THE TEACHER’S LAST LESSON. A Memoir of Mar¬ 
tha Whiting, late of the Charlestown Female Seminary, consisting 
^ chiefly of Extracts from her Journal, interspersed with Reminiscences 
and Suggestive Reflections. By Catharine N. Badger, an Asso¬ 
ciate Teacher. With a Portrait, and an Engraving of the Seminary. 
12mo, cloth. $1.00 Second edition. 

The subject of this Memoir was, for a quarter of a century, at the head of one of 
the most celebrated Female Seminaries in the country. During that period she edu¬ 
cated more than three thousand young ladies. She was a kindred spirit to Mary 
Lyon, the celebrated founder of Mount Holyoke Seminary, with whom, for strength 
of character, eminent piety, devotion to her calling, and extraordinary success there¬ 
in! she well deserves to be ranked. (o) 





WORKS BY DR. TWEEDIE. 


GLAD TIDINGS ; or, The Gospel of Peace. A serves of Daily 

Meditations for Christian Disciples. By Bev. W. K. Tweedie, 

D. D. With an elegant Illustrated Title-page. 16mo, cloth. 

63 cents. 

These meditations, though brief, are comprehensive and weighty. It is re¬ 
markable for condensation, for a deep evangelical tone, and for putting itself 
into direct contact with the conscience and the heart. — Albany Argus. 

We heartily wish this little book were in every Christian family, and could 
be carefully read through by every Christian. — iV. Y. Evangelist. 

This sweet little volume challenges our warmest commendation. Every 
page glows with Christian example and goodness. The perusal of one chapter 
will awake a keener relish for the commencement of another. The Frontispiece, 
representing the shepherds’ watch of their flocks by night, is sublimely beauti¬ 
ful. — Lawrence Courier. 

A LAMP TO THE PATH ; or, the Bible in the Heart, the 

Home, and the Market-place. With an elegant Illustrated 

Title-page. 16mo, cloth. 63 cents. 

The power, the beauty, and the necessity of religion in the heart, the home, 
the workshop, the market-place, the professions, and in social intercourse, are 
happily illustrated. It is a jewel, and should enrich every family library. The 
last chapter is worthy of being engraven, as with the point of a diamond, on 
every human heart. — Southern Literary Messenger. 

This little volume brings Christianity home to the bosoms and business of 
men. It is a lucid, impressive, and beautiful exposition of Christian obliga¬ 
tions. — Albany Argus. 

SEED-TIME AND HARVEST ; or, Sow Well and Reap Well. 

A Book for the Young. With an elegant Illustrated Title-page. 

16mo, cloth. 63 cents. 

An excellent book, more particularly designed for young readers; but persons 
of all ages may derive pleasure and profit from its perusal. —N. Y. Commercial. 

No person can read it attentively, without feeling that there is an importance 
attached even to what seem to be his most indifferent actions. — Puritan Fee. 

A most precious volume this to the young, taking their first step and first look 
in life ; teaching them that if they would reap well, they must sow well •, that 
if they would enjoy an old age of honor, they must be trained in youth to vir¬ 
tue. — Dr. Sprague, Albany Spectator. 

THE MORN OF LIFE ; or, Examples of Female Excellence* 

A Book for Young Ladies. 16mo, cloth. In press. 

XYjcT The above works, by Dr. Tweedie, are of uniform size and style. They 
are most charming, pious, and instruc^ve works, beautifully gotten up, and 
well adapted for “ gift-books.” 


FAMILY WORSHIP; or, the Morning and Evening Sacrifice. 
\One volume. Octavo, cloth. In press. (h) , 



IMPORTANT NEW WORKS. 


THE CHRISTIAN LIFE : Social and Individual. By Peter 
Bayne, A. M. 12mo, cloth. $1.25. 

Contents. Part I. — Statement. The Individual Life ; the Social Life. Part 
II. — Exposition and Illustration. First Principles ; Howard, and the rise of 
Philanthropy; Wilberforce, and the development of Philanthropy ; Budgett, the 
Christian Freeman ; the social problem of the age, and one or two hints towards its 
solution ; Modern Doubt; John Foster ; Thomas Arnold ; Thomas Chalmers. Part 
IIL — Outlook. The Positive Philosophy ; Pantheistic Spiritualism. 

Particular attention is invited to this work. Its recent publication in Scotland pro- 
iuced a great sensation. Hugh Miller made it the subject of an elaborate review in 
his paper, the Edinburgh “ Witness,” and gave his readers to understand that it was 
an extraordinary work. The “News of the Churches,” the monthly organ of the 
Scottish Free Church, was equally emphatic in its praise, pronouncing it “the relig¬ 
ious book of the season.” Strikingly original in plan and brilliant in execution, it far 
surpasses the expectations raised by the somewhat familiar title. It is, in truth, a 
bold onslaught (and the first of the kind) upon the Pantheism of Carlyle, Fichte, etc., 
by an ardent admirer of Carlyle ; and at the same time an exhibition of the Christian 
Life, in its inner principle, and as illustrated in the lives of Howard, Wilberforce, 
Budgett, Foster, Chalmers, etc. The brilliancy and vigor of the author’s style are 
remarkable. 

PATRIARCHY; or, The Family : its Constitution and 
Probation. By John Harris, D. D., President of “ New College,” 
London, and author of “The Great Teacher,” “Mammon,” etc. 
12mo, cloth. $$1.25. 

The public are here presented with a work on a subject of universal interest, by 
one of the most able and popular living authors. It is a work that should find a place 
in every family, containing, as it does, a profound and eloquent exposition of the 
constitution, laws, and history of the Family, as well as much important instruction 
and sound advice, touching the family, family government, family education, etc., 
of the present time. 

This is the third and last of a series, by the same author, entitled “ Contributions 
to Theological Science.” The plan of this series is highly original, and thus far has 
been mest successfully executed. Of the first two in the series, “ Prc-Adamite 
Earth,” and “Man Primeval,” we have already issued four and live editions, and the 
demand still continues. The immense sale of all Dr. Harris’s works attest their in¬ 
trinsic popularity. 

“ The present age has not produced his superior as an original, stirring, elegant 
•writer.”— Philadelphia Christian Chronicle. 

GOD REVEALED IN NATURE AND IN CHRIST; 

Including a Refutation of the Development Theory contained in the 
“ Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation.” By the author of 
“The Philosophy of the Flan of Salvation.” 12mo, cloth. $1.25. 

The author of that remarkable book, “ The Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation,” 
lias devoted several years of incessant labor to the preparation of this work. It fur¬ 
nishes a new, and, as it is conceived, a conclusive argument against the “develop¬ 
ment theory” so ingeniously maintained in the “Vestiges of the Natural History of 
Creation.” As this author docs not publish except when he has something to say, 
there is good reason to anticipate that the work will be one of unusual interest and 
value. His former book has met with the most signal success in both hemispheres, 
having passed through numerous editions in England and Scotland, and been trans¬ 
lated into four of the European languages besides- V is^lso about to be translated 
into the Hindostanee tongue. (m) 



VALUABLE WORKS. 


THE SUFFERING SAVIOUR ; or, Meditations on the 
Last Days of Christ. By Fred. W. Krummacher, D.D., Chap¬ 
lain to the King of Prussia, and author of u Elijah the Tishbite,” etc. 
Translated under the express sanction of the author, by Samuel 
Jackson. 12mo, cloth. $1.25. 

The style of the author need not be described to those who have read his ‘Elijah ; 
and whoever has not read an evangelical book of our own time that has passed through 
many editions in German, English, French, Dutch, Danish, had better order the 
Chinese edition, which has recently appeared. * * * We like the book — love 
it, rather — for the vivid perception and fervid emotion with which it brings us to 
the Suffering Saviour.” — New York Independent. 

“ Krummacher is himself again ! Till the present work appeared, he had done 
nothing equal to his first one, ‘ Elijah, the Tishbite.* In the present he comes upon 
the literary firmament in his old fire and glory, 4 like a re-appearing star.’ The trans¬ 
lator has done his work admirably. * * * Much of the narrative is given with thril¬ 
ling vividness, and pathos, and beauty. Marking as we proceeded, several passages 
for quotation, we found them in the end so numerous, that we must refer the reader 
to the work itself.” — News of the Churches (Scottish). 

THE PROGRESS OF BAPTIST PRINCIPLES IN THE 
LAST HUNDRED YEARS. By T. F. Curtis, Professor of Theol¬ 
ogy in Lewisburg University, Pa. 12mo, cloth. $1.25. 

This work is divided into three books. The first exhibits the progress of Baptist 
Principles, now conceeded in theory by the most enlighted of other denominations. 
The second presents a view of the progress of principles still controverted. 

The third sets forth the progress of principles always held by evangelical Chris¬ 
tians, but more consistently by Baptists. 

It is a work that invites the candid consideration of all denomitions. The aim has 
been to draw a wide distinction between parties and opinions. Hence the object of 
this volume is not to exhibit or defend the Baptists, but their principles.” 

“ The principles referred to are such as these : Freedom of conscience and Sepa¬ 
ration of Church and State ; a Converted Church Membership ; Sacraments inoper¬ 
ative without Choice and Faith ; Believers the only Scriptural Subjects of Baptism ; 
Immersion always the Baptism of the New Testament; Infant Baptism Injurious ; 
Open Communion Unwise and Injurious. To show the progress of these principles, 
statistics are given, from which we learn that in 1792 there was but one Baptist Com¬ 
municant in the United States to every fifty-six inhabitants, while in 1S54 there was 
one to every thirty inhabitants. The Baptists have more than one quarter of the 
whole Church accommodation in the United States. * * * The entire work is writ¬ 
ten with ability and unfailing good temper.”— Quarterly Journal American 
Unitarian Association. 

u The good temper of the author of this volume is obvious ; the method of arrang¬ 
ing his materials for effect admirable.” — Presbyterian. 

“ We know of no man in our Churches better fitted to prepare a fair exhibition of 
‘ Baptist Principles/ He is no controversialist; and his discussions are in most 
refreshing contrast with many, both of Baptist defenders and their opponents.” — 
SouTTTEiur Baptist. 

“ The work exhibits ample learning, vigorous argumentative power, and an excel¬ 
lent spirit toward those whose views it controverts. Apart from its theological bear¬ 
ings, it possesses not a little historical interest.”— N. Y. Tribune. 

44 The aim of the work is important, the plan ingenious, yet simple and natural, 
the author’s preparation for it apparently thorough and conscientious, and his spirit 
excellent.”— Watchman and Reflfctor. (r) 



RECENT PUBLICATIONS 


THE EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY, as exhibited in the 
writings of its apologists, down to Augustine, by W. J. Bolton, 
of GonvUle and Caius College, Cambridge. 12mo, cloth. 80 cts. 

This volume received the Hulsean prize (about $500) In England. The author 
Is evidently a very learned student of the patristic writings and the whole circle 
of ecclesiastical history. He has presented to the world in this essay an admi¬ 
rable compendium of the arguments for the truth of Christianity advanced in 
the works of the Apologetic Fathers during the third, fourth, and fifth centuries 
of the Christian era. These arguments are classified as being deduced from 
antecedent probability, from antiquity, from prophecy, from miracles, from the 
reasonableness of doctrine, from superior morality, and from the success of the 
Gospel. — AT. Y. Commercial. 

We thankfully accept such an eflort as this of a profound and highly-cultivated 
mind. — Puritan Recorder. 

The work bears the marks of great research, and must command the attention 
and confidence of the Christian world. — Mercantile Journal. 

THE BETTER LAND ; or. Thoughts on Heaven. By A. C. 
Thompson, Pastor of the Eliot Church, Roxbury. 12mo, cloth. 
$1.00. Just published. 

THE MISSION OF THE COMFORTER; with copious Notes. 
By Julius Charles Hare. Notes translated for the American 
edition. 12mo, cloth. $1.25. 

Rich in spirituality, strong and sound in theology, comprehensive in thought, 
vigorous and beautiful in imagination, affluent in learning. — Congregatio nalist. 

We have seldom read a book with greater interest. — N. Y. Evangelist. 

The volume is of rare value, and will be welcomed as an eloquent and Scriptu¬ 
ral exposition of some of the fundamental doctrines of our faith. — N. Y.Recorder 

THE VICTORY OF FAITH. 'By Julius Charles Hare, author 
of “ The Mission of the Comforter,” etc. 12mo, cloth. In press. 

FIRST LINES OF CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY. In the form of 
a Syllabus, for the use of Students. Royal octavo. $5.00. 

A most important w T ork for ministers and theological students. 

THE RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD, and thtir relations to 
Christianity. By Frederick Denison Maurice, A. M., Profes¬ 
sor of Divinity in King’s College, London. 16mo, cloth. 60 cts. 

The effort is masterly, and, in any event, must prove highly interesting by the 
comparisons which it institutes with the false and the true. — Method. Quarterly. 

GUIDO AND JULIUS. The Doctrine of Sin and the Pro¬ 
pitiator ; or, the True Consecration of the Doubter. By F. Aug 
O. Tholuch, D.D. Translated by Jonathan Edwards Ryland. 
Introduction by John Pye Smith, D.D. 16mo, cloth. 00 cts. 

OPS' Pre-eminently a book for the times —full of interest, and of great pc. we. 

(i) 



lea® 


fahutble fuligtous Works, 


-Ht 


PUBLISHED BY 


GOULD AND LINCOLN, BOSTON. 


THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, PETER BAYNE, 12mO, 1.25. 

THE SCHOOL OF CHRIST, A. L. R. FOOTE, 16lUO, 50. 

SUFFERING SAVIOUR, FRED. W. KRUMMACHER, D. D., 12mO, 1.25. 
WREATH AROUND THE CROSS, A. MORTON BROWN, D. D., 16n\0, 00. 
PHILOSOPHY OF THE PLAN OF SALVATION, 12mO, 75. 

THE GREAT TEACHER, JOHN HARRIS, D. D., 12lI10, 85. 

IMITATION OF CHRIST, THOMAS A KEMPIS, 12mO, 85. 

LORD’S PRAYER, WILLIAM R. WILLIAMS, D. D., 12mO, 85. 

RELIGIOUS PROGRESS, WILLIAM R. WILLIAMS, D. D., 12mO, 85. 
CHRISTIAN’S DAILY TREASURY, TEMPLE, 12mO, 1.00. 

GLAD TIDINGS, DR. TWEEDIE, l6mO, 63. 

LAMP TO THE PATH, DR. TWEEDIE, 16mO, 63. 

SEED-TIME AND HARVEST, DR. TWEEDIE, 16mO, 63. 

THE BETTER LAND, AUGUSTUS C. THOMPSON, 12mO, 85. 

CHURCH MEMBER’S GUIDE, JOHN ANGELL JAMES, 18mO, 33. 

CHURCH MEMBER’S HANDBOOK, WILLIAM CROWELL, D. D., 18mO, 38. 
CHURCH IN EARNEST, JOHN ANGELL JAMES, 18mO, 40. 

CHRISTIAN PROGRESS, JOHN ANGELL JAMES, 18mO, 31. 

RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD, MAURICE. 16mO, 60. 

CHRISTIAN WORLD UNMASKED, JOHN BERRIDGE, 16mO, 50. 

LIFE OF JAMES MONTGOMERY, KNIGHT, 12mO, 1.25. 

THE SIGNET RING, FROM THE GERMAN, 16mO, 31. 

THE BIBLE AND THE CLOSET, ED. BY DR. CHOULES, 32mO, gilt, 31. 

THE FAMILY ALTAR, 32mO, gilt, 31. 

DAILY MANNA, BARON STOW, 32mO, gilt, 31. 

THE ACTIVE CHRISTIAN, JOHN HARRIS, D. D., 32mO, gilt, 31. 

THE YOUNG COMMUNICANT, 32mO, gilt, 31. 

THE CASKET OF JEWELS, 32mO, gilt, 31. 

APOLLOS, DIRECTIONS FOR YOUNG CHRISTIANS, 32mO, gilt, 0 cts. 
KITTO’S POPULAR CYCLOPAEDIA OF BIBLICAL LITERATURE. Five hun¬ 
dred Illustrations. One volume octavo, 812 pp., cloth, 3.00. 
kitto’s history of Palestine. 200 Illustrations. 12mo, 1.25. 

EADIE’S ANALYTICAL CONCORDANCE TO THE HOLY SCRIPTURES, 
octavo, 840 pp., 3.00. 

CRUDEN’S CONDENSED CONCORDANCE TO THE BIBLE, OCtaVO, 1.25. 


chambers’ works. Cyclopaedia of English Literature ; Miscellany, 10 
vols.; Home Book, 6 vols. 

miller’s works. My Schools and Schoolmasters ; Footprints of Creator ; 
Old Red Sandstone; First Impressions of England; Testimony of the 
Rocks ; Cruise of the Betsey, etc. 

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, KNIGHT, ED. BY D. A. WELLS, 12mO, 1.25. 
ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY IN SCIENCE AND ART, ED. BY 
d. a. wells, 12mo, 1.25. 

MEMOIR OF AMOS LAWRENCE, OCtaVO, 1.50; 12nTlO, 1.00. 

G3T" With a great variety of other Religious, Literary , Scientific , 

* ^ and Educational Works . _ c 


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